467.1 

.S55 

N4 

1892 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofsen01newy_0 


in  IVlcmorium. 


MlitHam  'I’,  ^hcvman 


“ Whose  every  battlefield  is  holy  ground. 

Which  breathes  of  nations  saved,  not  worlds  undone.” 

“ Who  trod  the  waves  of  glory 
And  sounded  all  the  depths  and  shoals  of  fame.” 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF  THE 

SENATE  AND  ASSEMBLY 

OF  THE 

State  of  New  Yo  RK, 

ON  THE  LIFE  AND  SERVICES  OF 

Gen.  WILLIAM  T.  SHERMAN, 


HELD  AT 


Harmanus  Bleecker  Hall, 

ALBANY,  MARCH  29,  1892. 


ALBANY : 

JAMES  B.  LYON,  STATE  PRINTER. 
1892. 


9 2.  3.3'7  3 
S 4'6-31i 


Joint  Committee  of  the  Legislature. 


MARTIN  T.  McMAHON, 
JACOB  A.  CANTOR, 
EDWARD  B.  OSBORNE, 
CORNELIUS  R.  PARSONS, 
COMMODORE  P.  VEDDER, 
JOHN  LAUGHLIN, 

TITUS  SHEARD, 


JOHN  J.  LINSON, 

JAMES  W.  HUSTED, 
JAMES  H.  SOUTHWORTH, 
NEVADA  N.  STRANAHAN, 
JOHN  CROAK, 

BERNARD  J.  McBRIDE, 
JAMES  S.  WHIPPLE. 


316104 


Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York 


RELATIVE  TO  THE 


LIFE  AX  I)  SERVICES 


GENERAL  WILLIAM  T.  SHERMAN. 


316104 


I 


PROCEEDINGS. 


Harmanus  Bleecker  Hall,  ^ 

Albany,  March  29,  1892.  ^ 

The  Legislature  having  met  in  joint  session 
in  Harmanus  Bleecker  Hall,  in  the  city  of 
Albany,  in  pursuance  of  arrangements  made 
by  the  Joint  Memorial  Committee,  Gen. 
Martin  T.  McMahon,  Chairman  of  the  Joint 
Committee,  called  the  meeting  to  order  after 
an  overture  by  the  orchestra.  The  pro- 
ceedings were  opened  with  prayer  by  the 
Rt.  Rev.  Francis  McNeirney,  Bishop  of 
Albany,  as  follows  : 

a.  / 

Almighty  and  Eternal  God,  we  humbly  place  our- 
selves in  Thy  divine  presence,  acknowledging  Thy 
power  and  might  and  majesty,  confessing  our  own 
weakness  and  our  entire  dependence  upon  Thee. 

To  Thee  do  we  owe  all  things  — creation,  existence 
and  continued  preservation,  and  there  is  naught  that  we 
possess  that  doth  not  come  from  Thee. 

As  individuals  we  have  been  singularly  blessed  by 
Thee.  As  a people,  we  have  been  the  special  object  of 
Thy  affection.  In  the  days  of  blissful  peace  Thou  wert 


9 


|n  Ulcmoviam. 


with  us.  In  the  sad  hours  of  fraternal  strife  Thou  didst 
not  abandon  us.  For  all  this  to  Thee  be  honor,  glory 
and  praise. 

The  founders  of  the  nation  Thou  didst  endow  with 
eminent  wisdom  and  prudence,  and  on  the  shoulders  of 
their  successors  Thou  didst  make  their  mantle  fall. 
Down  deep  in  the  hearts  of  all  — of  people  and  rulers 
alike  — Thou  hast  implanted  an  earnest,  undying  love 
of  country.  For  this  also,  to  Thee  be  honor,  glory 
and  praise. 

May  this  solemn  memorial  service  in  honor  of  him  Avho 
fought  so  strenuously,  so  courageously  and  so  successfully 
to  maintain  and  support  the  fabric  of  the  Union,  tend  to 
increase  our  admiration  and  our  love  for  the  founders 
and  for  the  defenders  of  the  Republic.  May  we  emulate 
their  civic  virtues  ever.  May  we  be  disposed  to  follow 
Thy  footsteps  ever,  and  for  our  beloved  country  to 
sacrifice  all,  save  honor,  ever.  May  their  example  nerve 
us  to  deeds  of  righteousness  and  valor,  and  may  we  all 
demean  ourselves  here,  ever  as  to  merit,  with  the  grati- 
tude of  our  country  and  of  our  fellow  men  a blissful 
inheritance  hereafter. 

The  song,  “ Comrades  in  Arms,”  was  ren- 
dered by  the  Excelsior  Quartette,  com- 
posed of  Thomas  Impett,  Charles  P.  Stimp- 
son,  Charles  A.  White  and  C.  A.  Stein. 

Gen.  McMahon  then  spoke  as  follows : 

Mr.  President,  Senators  and  Gentlemen 
of  the  Assembly. — The  joint  committee 

10 


(Sen.  W&iiXlrcini  % Jdtrrman. 


appointed  by  the  Senate  and  the  Assembly 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  to  conduct  these 
Memorial  Exercises,  have  directed  me  to 
present  as  your  presiding  officer  to-night  a 
distinguished  soldier  well  known  to  all  of 
you. 

He  was  second  in  command  to  the  great 
hero  whose  memory  we  are  here  to-night 
to  honor  during  the  most  interesting  and 
most  remarkable  of  the  campaigns  of  that 
illustrious  soldier,  known  as  “ The  March 
from  Atlanta  to  the  Sea.”  And  during 
this,  as  in  other  campaigns,  both  in  the 
east  and  the  west,  he  made  for  himself 
a reputation  of  which  his  countrymen  and 
fellow  citizens  of  the  State  of  New  York 
have  every  reason  to  be  proud. 

He  is  one  of  the  last  who  remain  to  us  of 
the  great  leaders  who  commanded  armies 
during  the  civil  war,  and  whose  names  will 
stand  high  in  history. 

I have  the  honor  to  present  to  you  Major- 
General  Henry  W.  Slocum,  as  the  presiding 
officer  of  the  evening. 


%u  Htcmoviam. 


Gen.  Slocum,  upon  taking  the  chair,  said : 

I desire  to  return  my  thanks  to  the  Legis- 
lature of  our  State,  for  according  me  the 
high  honor  of  presiding  at  these  memo- 
rial exercises.  I am  well  aware  that  this 
high  compliment  paid  to  me  is  due  sim- 
ply to  the  fact  that  I had  the  honor  of 
serving  under  General  Sherman  during 
the  war. 

It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  very  appro- 
priate that  these  memorial  exercises 
should  be  held  in  the  city  of  Albany, 
the  Capital  of  our  State  ; that  they  should 
be  under  the  auspices  of  our  State  Leg- 
islature, for,  while  General  Sherman  was 
not  a native  of  New  York,  he  was  a 
citizen  of  our  State  by  choice.  General 
Sherman,  General  Grant  and  General  Sheri- 
dan, the  three  men  who  will  always 
occupy  the  highest  positions  accorded  to 
any  of  the  Union  Generals  of  our  late 
struggle,  were  born  in  country  villages 
in  the  State  of  Ohio.  Sherman  spent  his 
boyhood  days  in  that  State. 


12 


(Scti.  jidimuan. 


Tlie  days  of  his  early  manhood  were 
spent  in  California,  at  the  time  when  that 
State  was  about  to  take  her  place  in  the 
Union.  For  years  before  the  war  he 
spent  his  time  in  the  State  of  Louisiana. 
Several  years  after  the  close  of  the  war 
he  spent  in  the  most  beautiful  city  of 
our  country,  if  not  of  the  world,  the 
city  of  Washington.  He  had  ample  time  of 
judging  for  himself  where  it  would  be  most 
desirable  to  make  his  home.  He  deliber- 
ately selected  New  York  as  the  place  in 
which  he  wished  to  spend  his  last  years. 

I think  I risk  nothing  in  saying  that 
these  last  years  of  General  Sherman,  spent 
in  our  midst,  were  the  happiest  years  of 
his  life.  He  mingled  freely  with  all  classes 
of  our  community.  He  was  fond  of  society. 
He  loved  to  mingle  and  be  with  his  old 
comrades.  No  gathering;  of  veteran  sol- 
diers  was  ever  considered  complete  unless 
Sherman  was  present.  He  visited  Albany, 
Syracuse,  Buffalo,  Utica,  Troy,  all  of  our 
principal  cities,  to  attend  their  gatherings ; 


13 


%n  IXlcmoviam. 


and  on  all  occasions  lie  was  tlieir  most 
beloved  companion.  No  great  public  occa- 
sion took  place  in  New  York,  while  Sher- 
man was  a resident  there,  at  which  he  was 
not  the  honored  guest.  At  the  social 
board  he  was  the  most  brilliant  and  the 
most  beloved  companion.  He  visited  our 
public  institutions.  He  went  to  our  public 
and  common  schools  and  to  our  academies. 
His  voice  was  heard  on  all  occasions  and 
when  he  died,  of  all  the  Union  Generals, 
he  was  the  best  known  and  the  best 
beloved  by  the  people  of  our  State. 

I think  I could  stand  here  on  this  stage 
to-night  and,  perhaps,  entertain  you  by 
anecdotes  illustrating  his  military  genius 
and  his  peculiar  temperament.  But  this 
duty  has  been  allotted  to  another  who  will 
perform  it  more  acceptably  than  I can. 
I can  only  say  this : That  I regard  it  the 
happiest  and  most  fortunate  event  of  my 
life,  that  I was  permitted  to  serve  under 
this  great  General,  to  enjoy  his  confidence 
and  his  friendship  in  war,  a confidence  and 


(Sen.  W&illwm  g.  Jdtmmtu. 


friendship  which  was  not  destroyed  up  to 
the  hour  of  his  death. 

I congratulate  the  audience,  and  I con- 
gratulate the  Legislature  of  our  State  upon 
the  happy  selection  that  they  have  made 
for  the  orator  on  this  occasion.  I know 
full  well  that  no  man  in  New  York  city 
enjoyed  to  a greater  extent  the  affection 
and  confidence  of  General  Sherman  than 
did  the  man  who  will  to-night  portray  to 
you  his  character  and  his  achievements. 

I will  take  pleasure  at  the  proper  time 
of  introducing  him  to  you. 

“ I know  that  My  Redeemer  Livetli  ” was 
then  rendered  by  Mile.  Clementine  I)e  Yere. 
A descriptive  fantasia  of  the  late  war, 
entitled  “ The  Battle  of  Gettysburg,”  by  the 
orchestra,  and  the  song,  “ Remember  Now 
Thy  Creator,”  by  the  Excelsior  Quartette. 

Chauncey  M.  Depew,  LL.  D.,  then  delivered 
the  following  memorial  address  : 

Senators  and  Members  of  Assembly. — 
The  passions  of  civil  war  usually  survive 


%n  |%Kcmovi<tm. 


centuries.  We  can  not  yet  impartially  and 
calmly  estimate  tlie  ability  and  services  of 
Hamilton  and  Jefferson.  Their  names  still 
stand  for  antagonistic  principles  and  antago- 
nized followers.  But  the  issues  of  the 
rebellion  were  buried  with  its  dead.  That 
struggle  was  unique,  both  in  magnitude 
and  settlement.  It  was  an  earthquake  which 
rent  asunder  a continent  and  plunged  into 
cavernous  depths  millions  of  men  and  money 
and  the  shackles  of  the  slaves.  It  closed, 
and  the  survivors,  freed  from  the  causes  of 
contention,  were  united  for  the  upbuilding 
of  the  new  nation.  Prior  to  the  war  we 
were  singularly  provincial  and  insular,  but 
we  have  since  grown  to  be  as  radically 
liberal  and  cosmopolitan.  Then  our  judg- 
ments of  statesmen  and  measures  were 
governed  by  considerations  which  were 
territorial  or  inherited.  Now  those  who 
were  in  the  front  and  heat  of  the  great 
battle  can  fairly  view  and  freely  weigh  the 
merits  of  their  friends  and  foes.  We  can 
eliminate  our  feelings,  our  prejudices  and 


16 


(Scu.  xLt&Uliam  g.  ^Herman. 


our  convictions  upon  the  purposes  for  which 
they  fought,  and  contrast  Grant  and  Lee,  Sher- 
man and  Joe  Johnston,  Sheridan  and  Beaure- 
gard, as  to  the  genius  and  ability  with 
which  they  planned  and  played  the  game 
of  war,  with  ecpial  candor  and  better  light 
than  the  historian  of  the  future.  Yesterday 
General  Sherman  was  the  last  of  that 
triumvirate  of  great  captains,  Grant,  Sher- 
man and  Sheridan,  who  were  the  most  dis- 
tinguished soldiers  of  our  country,  and  of 
our  times,  and  a familiar  figure  in  our  midst. 
His  presence  revived  and  embodied  the 
glories  and  the  memories  of  the  marches 
and  the  victories  of  the  heroes  who  fought, 
and  of  the  heroes  who  had  died,  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Union.  To-day  we  com- 
memorate his  life  and  deeds ; and  the  civil 
war  is  history. 

General  Sherman's  ancestors  had  been  noted 
for  many  generations  for  their  culture,  ability 
and  intellectual  power.  His  father  was  a 
judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio,  and 
his  grandfather  of  a Connecticut  court,  while 


17 


px  IjkXcmovutm. 


the  grandfather  of  the  Connecticut  judge  was 
a Puritan  clergyman,  who  came  to  Massachu- 
setts in  1034,  in  company  with  a warrior  rela- 
tive, Captain  John  Sherman,  the  ancestor 
of  Roger,  the  signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  Much  has  been  said,  hut 
the  whole  can  never  be  written,  of  the 
influence  of  the  Puritan  stock  upon  the 
formation  and  development  of  the  United 
States  and  the  destinies  of  mankind.  They 
alone  of  all  colonists  emigrated,  not  to 
improve  their  worldly  condition,  but  to 
secure  liberty  of  conscience  and  to  live 
under  a government  of  just  and  equal  laws. 
All  through  the  career  of  General  Sherman 
the  spirit  of  Cromwell  and  the  Covenanter 
was  the  motive  power  of  his  action.  His 
principle  of  war  was  to  use  up  and  con- 
sume the  resources  of  the  enemy.  The 
destruction  of  Atlanta  and  the  devastating 
march  through  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas 
were  upon  Puritan  lines.  The  enemies  of 
his  country  were  as  much  to  his  mind  the 
enemies  of  the  Lord  as  were  the  Cavaliers 


18 


(5cn.  'SSUlliaw  g.  Gherman. 


of  Prince  Rupert  to  Cromwell  and  liis  Iron- 
sides. lie  was  by  nature  the  most  genial, 
lovable  and  companionable  of  men,  but  the 
mailed  hand  and  merciless  purpose  followed 
any  attack  on  the  things  he  held  sacred. 
This  appears  not  only  in  his  campaigns, 
but  also  in  his  dispatches  to  Generals 
Grant  and  Halleck.  “I  will  make  the 
interior  of  Georgia  feel  the  weight  of 
war."  “The  utter  destruction  of  its  roads, 
houses  and  people  will  cripple  their  mili- 
tary resources.”  “I  attach  more  impor- 
tance to  these  deep  incisions  into  the 
enemy’s  country,  because  this  war  differs 
from  European  wars  in  this  particular : 
We  are  not  only  fighting  hostile  armies, 
but  a hostile  people,  and  must  make  old 
and  young,  rich  and  poor,  feel  the  hard 
hand  of  war  as  well  as  their  organized 
armies.”  And  in  his  letter  demanding  the 
surrender  of  Savannah  he  says  : “ Should  I 

be  forced  to  assault,  or  the  slower  and 
surer  process  of  starvation,  I shall  then 
feel  justified  in  resorting  to  the  harshest 


19 


%xt  f^lcmoviam. 


measures,  ancl  shall  make  little  effort 
to  restrain  my  army,  burning  to  avenge 
the  national  wrong,  which  they  attach  to 
Savannah  and  other  large  cities  which  have 
been  so  prominent  in  dragging  our  coun- 
try into  civil  war.” 

This  was  the  language  of  the  Puritan 
soldier.  It  was  born  and  bred  in  the 
children  of  the  people  who  first  sepa- 
rated Church  from  State,  and  went  to 
the  stake  for  believing  and  declaring  that 
the  will  of  God  could  be  one  way,  and 
the  will  of  the  king  the  other,  and  their 
allegiance  was  to  the  Lord.  It  was  the 
same  conscience  which  beheaded  Charles 
the  First,  and  afterwards  threw  the  tea 
into  Boston  harbor.  Marston  Moor,  Lex- 
ington and  the  March  to  the  Sea  were 
fruits  of  the  same  tree.  Sherman  was  a 
soldier,  educated  by  the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  Republic  was 
his  love  and  his  religion.  The  intensity 
of  his  passion  for  the  nation  would  in 
other  times  and  surroundings  have  made 


20 


(Sen.  ZUftUlutm  rS.  ffeerwan. 


him  a general  in  the  Parliamentary  army, 
or  the  leader  of  a New  England  colony. 

I shall  never  forget  a dramatic  scene  at 
a notable  gathering  in  New  York,  when 
Charles  Sumner  indirectly  attacked  Presi- 
dent Grant,  as  a failure  in  civil  affairs,  by 
ridiculing  Miles  Standish.  General  Sherman 
was  a stranger  to  a New  York  audience, 
and  none  knew  that  he  could  speak.  Few 
men  would  have  dared  reply  to  the  world- 
famed  orator.  But  he  had  assailed  the 
two  tenderest  sentiments  of  General  Sher- 
man— his  love  and  admiration  for  Grant, 
and  his  pride  in  his  profession  of  a soldier. 
Without  any  opportunity  for  preparation, 
but  without  hesitation,  he  immediately 
arose  to  meet  this  unexpected  and  surpris- 
ing attack.  Defense,  under  such  conditions, 
would  with  most  untrained  speakers  have 
degenerated  into  abuse,  but  with  Sherman 
it  became  the  most  impressive  eloquence. 
It  was  a direct  and  simple  statement  of  his 
faith  in  his  friend,  and  a description  of  the 
merits  and  mission  of  the  soldier,  which  was 


21 


%n  IpXcmoriam, 


like  the  brilliant  clash  and  resistless  momen- 
tum of  a charge  of  cavalry  through  the 
broken  squares  of  the  enemy.  It  was  a 
speech  Captain  Miles  Standisli  might  have 
made  after  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of 
American  opportunity,  and  the  mighty  soul 
of  the  Puritan  captain  seemed  inspiring  the 
voice  and  the  presence  of  his  advocate. 

The  same  qualities  made  him  the  most 
amiable  and  lovable  of  men,  and  the  most 
rigid  of  disciplinarians.  His  heart  was 
easily  touched,  and  his  sympathies  aroused 
by  the  distress  or  want  or  sorrow  of 
others,  but  he  was  the  incarnation  of  the 
vengeance  of  the  law  upon  military  crimes. 
A corps  commander  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  once  said  to  him  : “ General  Sher- 

man, we  had  trouble  in  enforcing  strict 
obedience  to  orders,  because  the  findings 
of  the  courts-martial  had  to  be  sent  to 
President  Lincoln  for  approval  in  extreme 
cases,  and  he  would  never  approve  a sen- 
tence of  death.  What  did  you  do  ? ” “ I 

shot  them  first,”  was  the  grewsome  reply. 


(Sen.  Wlill mm  % Jdtmmtu. 


General  Sherman  was  destined  from  his 
birth  for  the  career  which  has  become  one 
of  the  brightest  pages  in  his  country’s 
history.  The  hero  among  the  early  settlers 
of  the  Ohio  valley  was  that  brave  and 
chi  cable  Indian  chief,  Tecnmseh,  who  had 
commanded  the  admiration  of  the  whites 
by  his  prowess,  and  their  good  will  by  his 
kindness.  He  fought  to  exterminate,  but 
he  could  as  quickly  forgive  as  he  fiercely 
and  savagely  struck.  The  qualities  of  this 
wild  warrior  became  part  of  the  character- 
istics of  his  namesake.  It  was  ruthless 
and  relentless  war  with  the  enemy  in  the 
field,  but  no  commander  ever  granted  more 
generous  terms  to  the  vanquished,  or  was 
so  ready  to  assist  with  purse  and  influence 
a fallen  foe. 

His  father,  Judge  Sherman,  died  suddenly, 
leaving  his  widow  with  little  means,  and  a 
family  of  eleven  children.  The  helpfulness 
of  the  American  family  when  thrown  upon 
their  own  resources,  and  the  ready  and 
practical  sympathy  of  American  communi- 


23 


%\x  |*Xcmovuim. 


ties,  so  extended  as  to  convey,  not  charity, 
but  compliment,  lias  no  better  example  than 
in  the  story  of  this  household,  and  the  suc- 
cess in  life  of  its  members.  The  bench 
and  the  bar  felt  that  the  boys  were  the 
wards  of  the  profession.  Ohio’s  leading 
lawyer,  and  United  States  Senator,  the 
Honorable  Thomas  Ewing,  said  : “ Give  me 

one,  but  the  brightest,”  and  the  brothers 
and  sisters  of  the  future  captor  of  Atlanta 
answered,  “ Take  Gump ; he  is  the  smart- 
est.” This  profound  jurist  and  keen  obser- 
ver of  character  saw  the  future  general 
in  this  quick,  nervous,  intelligent,  pugna- 
cious boy,  with  his  Indian  warrior  name, 
and  appointed  him  to  the  West  Point 
Military  Academy.  His  fertile  and  versa- 
tile mind  pushed  its  inquiries  into  too 
many  directions,  and  explored  fields  too 
diverse  for  that  methodical  and  accurate 
mastery  of  the  curriculum  which  makes  a 
valedictorian,  but  not  always  a man. 
Nevertheless,  he  stood  sixth  in  his  class, 
and  was  its  most  original  and  attractive 


24 


(Sen.  ‘William  % £»1tcvmau. 


member.  He  had  a fondness  for  topo- 
graphical studies,  and  a keen  eve  and  nat- 
ural and  trained  instinct  for  the  opportu- 
nities for  defense  and  attack  which  could 
be  utilized  in  the  places  where  he  was 
stationed  and  the  country  over  which  he 
traveled. 

His  first  service  was  in  Florida,  and  his 
duties  carried  him,  during  his  six  years  in 
the  South,  through  South  Carolina,  Ala- 
bama, Georgia  and  the  adjoining  counties 
of  Tennessee.  The  great  debate  as  to  the 
powers  of  the  general  government  and 
the  reserved  rights  of  the  States  was  at 
its  height.  General  Jackson  had  placed 
his  iron  heel  upon  John  C.  Calhoun  and 
registered  the  mighty  oath.  “ By  the  Eter- 
nal, the  Union  of  these  States  must  and 
shall  be  preserved."  South  Carolina  was 
specially  independent  and  defiant.  Threats 
of  disunion  met  Sherman  at  every  social 
gathering.  Webster’s  masterly  and  une- 
qualled argument  and  eloquence  had  con- 
verted the  North  and  thousands  of  broad- 


25 


In  2>Xemoviam. 


minded  men  in  the  South  to  the  idea  that  the 
United  States  was  a nation,  with  the 
right  to  use  all  the  resources  of  the  coun- 
try to  enforce  its  laws  and  maintain  its 
authority.  The  possibility  of  these  cpies- 
tions  being  decided  by  the  arbitrament  of 
war  was  ever  present  to  the  suggestive 
thought  of  the  young  lieutenant.  The  line 
of  the  Tennessee  river,  the  steep  ascent 
of  Kenesaw  mountain,  the  military  value 
of  Chattanooga  and  Atlanta,  were  impressed 
upon  the  intellect  of  the  maturing  strate- 
gist, to  materialize  twenty  years  after- 
wards in  the  severance  and  ruin  of  the 
Confederacy  by  his  triumphant  March  to 
the  Sea. 

Sherman  had  been  brought  up  and 
trained  in  the  school  of  Hamilton,  of 
Webster,  and  of  Henry  Clay.  His  Bible 
was  the  Constitution.  He  had  imagina- 
tion, but  no  sentiment ; passion,  but  no 
pathos.  Believing  slavery  to  have  guar- 
antees in  the  Constitution,  he  would  have 
unsheathed  his  sword  as  readily  against  a 


23 


(Sen.  ^SlilUam  g.  Jdicvman. 


John  Brown  raid  as  he  did  at  the  firing 
upon  Fort  Sumter.  His  imagination  led 
him  to  glorify  and  idealize  the  Republic. 
Its  grandeur,  its  growth,  and  its  possibili- 
ties captured  and  possessed  his  heart  and 
mind.  The  isolation  and  loneliness  of  the 
life  in  frontier  forts  destroys  many  young 
officers.  Their  energies  are  exhausted  and 
their  habits  and  principles  demoralized  by 
dissipation,  or  their  faculties  paralyzed  by 
idleness.  But  the  card  table  or  the  carouse 
had  no  attractions  for  Sherman.  His  time 
on  the  plains  was  fully  occupied.  He  was 
building  railroads  across  the  continent  on 
paper,  and  peopling  those  vast  regions  with 
prosperous  settlements,  long  before  they 
had  any  roads  but  the  paths  of  the  buffalo, 
and  any  inhabitants  but  roving  tribes  of 
wild  Indians.  He  could  never  understand 
the  lamentation,  so  common,  over  the  exter- 
mination of  the  buffalo.  The  patient  oxen 
drawing  the  plow  through  the  furrow,  and 
the  lowing  herds  winding  home  at  sunset, 
seemed  to  him  to  have  replaced  the  wild 


27 


%\x  KlcmovHtm. 


and  useless  bison  with  the  sources  of  indi- 
vidual and  national  wealth  and  happiness. 
He  would  have  destroyed  the  Indians, 
because  with  their  occupancy  of  extensive 
and  fertile  territories,  which  they  would 
neither  cultivate  nor  sell,  and  the  wars 
with  them,  which  frightened  settlers  from 
their  borders,  they  retarded  the  development 
and  checked  the  majestic  march  of  his 
country  to  the  first  place  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth. 

This  intense  nationalist  and  accomplished 
soldier  was  selected  by  the  State  of  Louisiana 
to  be  the  superintendent  and  organizer  of 
her  State  military  school.  The  veteran 
who  could  bring  to  the  business  of  bank- 
ing little  more  than  unswerving  integrity, 
and  failed ; and  whose  directness  of  purpose 
and  transparent  candor  were  disgusted  with 
the  law,  found  in  this  field  of  instruction 
a most  pleasant  and  congenial  occupation. 
He  was  at  the  head  of  a university  which 
was  fitting  youth  for  careers  in  civil  life, 
and  training  them,  if  needs  be,  to  fight 


28 


(Sen.  Wlillmm  Jdtevnutu. 


for  their  country.  The  institution  o’ew 
so  rapidly,  and  wisely,  that  the  attention 
of  the  State  authorities  was  attracted  to  its 
able  and  brilliant  principal.  He  did  not  sus- 
pect treason,  and  they  were  organizing 
rebellion.  To  capture  this  born  leader  of 
men  was  to  start  with  an  army.  Social 
blandishments,  political  pressure,  and  appeals 
to  ambition  were  skillfully  applied  to  his 
purposes  and  principles.  Suddenly  the  truth 
burst  upon  his  frank  nature.  He  was  poor, 
and  had  a large  and  helpless  family.  He 
held  an  honorable,  congenial,  lucrative  and 
permanent  position.  The  future,  if  he  aban- 
doned his  place,  was  dark  and  doubtful, 
but  the  Union  was  in  danger,  and  he  did 
not  hesitate  a moment.  His  letter  of  resigna- 
tion to  the  Governor  of  Louisiana  reads 
like  a bugle-call  of  patriotism : “As  I 
occupy  a quasi-military  position  under  the 
laws  of  the  State,  I deem  it  proper  to 
acquaint  you  that  I accepted  such  position 
when  Louisiana  was  a State  in  the  Union, 
and  when  the  motto  of  this  seminary  was 


29 


%n  IVlcmovutm. 


inserted  in  marble  over  the  main  door,  ‘ By 
the  Liberality  of  the  General  Government  of 
the  United  States.  The  Union  Espo  Per- 
petual Recent  events  foreshadow  a great 
change,  and  it  becomes  all  men  to  choose. 
If  Louisiana  withdraws  from  the  Federal 
Union,  I prefer  to  maintain  my  allegiance 
to  the  Constitution  as  long  as  a fragment 
of  it  survives.  * * “On  no  earthly 

account  will  I do  any  act  or  think  any 
thought  hostile  to  or  in  defiance  of  the  old 
government  of  the  United  States/’ 

Events  move  rapidly  in  revolutions, 
and  the  situations  are  always  dramatic. 
Captain  Sherman  is  in  Washington,  offer- 
ing his  services  to  the  government.  Lincoln 
is  President ; Seward,  Secretary  of  State  ; 
Chase,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ; John 
Sherman,  the  new  United  States  Senator 
from  Ohio,  and  old  General  Scott  in  com- 
mand of  the  army.  Nobody  believes  there 
will  be  war.  It  is  the  general  conviction 
that,  if  the  Southern  States  are  rash 
enough  to  attempt  to  secede,  the  rebel- 


30 


(Sen.  Wlillmm  JTtetmuw. 


lion  will  be  stamped  out  in  three  months, 
and  the  campaign  will  be  a picnic.  Alone 
in  that  great  throng  of  office-seekers  and 
self-seekers  stands  this  aggressive  and  self- 
sacrificing  patriot.  He  understands  and 
appreciates  better  than  any  man  living 
the  courage,  resources  and  desperate  deter- 
mination of  the  South.  “ They  mean 
war,”  he  cries ; “ they  will  soon  have 

armies  in  the  field  officered  and  led  by 
trained  and  able  soldiers.  It  will  require 
the  whole  power  of  the  government  and 
three  years  of  time  to  subdue  them  if 
they  get  organized  before  you  are  on 
them.”  Congressmen  laughed  at  the  wild 
talk  of  the  dramatic  alarmist ; old  army 
officers  significantly  tapped  their  foreheads, 
and  said,  “ Poor  Sherman,  it  is  too  bad ; ” 
and  the  President  answered  coldly, 
“Well,  captain,  I guess  we  will  manage 
to  keep  house.” 

The  Confederate  army  had  concentrated 
at  Manassas,  threatening  Washington. 
There  were  few  West  Point  officers  available, 


SI 


%\x  4>lcmo vuun. 


and  Captain  Sherman  was  commissioned-  a 
colonel  and  given  command  of  a brigade 
at  Bull  Run.  He  was  the  one  earnest 
man  among  the  crowd  of  triflers  in  uni- 
form and  citizen's  dress  who  flocked  to 
the  field.  Congress  adjourned  to  see  the 
rebels  run,  and  Congressmen  led  the 
tumultuous  flight  from  the  battle  to  Wash- 
ington.  Holding  in  hand  all  there  was  of 
his  brigade  which  had  not  stampeded, 
exposing  himself  with  reckless  courage, 
and  keeping  a semblance  of  discipline 
which  did  much  to  prevent  pursuit  by 
the  victorious  enemy,  Colonel  Sherman 
rode  into  Washington  to  so  freely  acknowl- 
edge the  faults  on  the  field,  and  so  vig- 
orously denounce  the  utterly  inadequate 
preparations  for  civil  war,  that  he 
again  fell  into  disrepute,  was  again 
assailed  as  a madman  and  banished  to 
the  West.  But  Ohio  never  lost  confi- 
dence in  him  and  demanded  and  secured 
his  appointment  in  the  long  list  of 
brigadier-generals. 


32 


<5cn.  ^glUliam  %.  Jfehcvmau. 


The  senseless  clamor  which  frightened 
the  Cabinet  and  the  War  Office  by  shout- 
ing “ On  to  Richmond,"  was  not  appeased 
by  the  disgrace  and  slaughter  of  Bull  Run 
and  Manassas.  The  frightful  recoil  which 
had  followed  obedience  to  the  popular  cry 
only  infuriated  the  politicians.  If  they  could 
not  put  down  the  rebellion  in  a day,  they 
could  at  least  punish  those  who  had  insisted 
upon  the  power  of  the  Confederacy.  There 
was  a significant  display  of  that  singular 
quality  of  human  nature  which  leads  people 
who  have  been  warned  against  a rash  act, 
to  turn  in  defeat  and  disappointment  and 
rend  the  prophet  who  foretold  the  result. 
Sherman,  from  the  more  commanding  posi- 
tion of  his  superior  rank,  was  once  more 
announcing  the  strength,  power  and  resources 
of  the  rebels  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee. 
He  boldly  proclaimed  that  the  forces  col- 
lected to  hold  those  States  were  so  absurdly 
inadequate  that  another  and  more  fatal 
Bull  Run  was  sure  to  follow  unless  the 
means  were  equal  to  the  emergency.  The 


In  I^Xcmoviiuu. 


government,  the  press  and  the  people  united 
in  condemning  his  terrorizing  utterances, 
and  for  the  third  time  he  was  sent  into 
retirement  as  a lunatic.  Accumulating  perils 
and  providential  escapes  from  hopeless  dis- 
asters speedily  demonstrated  that  this  mad- 
man was  a seer,  and  this  alarmist  a general. 

Then,  for  the  glory  of  the  American  army 
and  the  incalculable  advantage  of  the  Union 
cause,  came  the  opportunity  for  the  most 
brilliant  soldier  and  magnetic  commander 
in  our  annals.  The  control  of  the  Mississippi, 
the  allegiance  of  the  border  States,  and  the 
existence  of  the  western  army,  were  in 
gravest  peril  at  Shiloh.  Sherman  was  at 
the  front  on  those  two  desperate  days,  hold- 
ing his  men  by  his  personal  example  and 
presence.  He  was  as  much  the  inspiration 
of  the  tight  as  the  white  plume  of  Henry 
of  Navarre  at  Ivry.  Though  wounded,  he 
still  led,  and  though  three  horses  were  shot 
under  him,  he  mounted  the  fourth.  General 
Halleck,  then  Commander-in-Chief  of  all 
the  national  forces,  reported  to  the  govern- 


34 


<5cn.  Mill  lx  am  %\  Jdxcvman. 


ment  that  “ General  Sherman  saved  the  for- 
tunes of  the  day  on  the  sixth,  and  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  glorious  victory  of 
the  seventh.’’ 

Critics  and  historians  will  forever  discuss 
the  men  and  the  movements  of  the  civil 
war.  As  time  passes,  and  future  events 
crowd  the  record,  most  of  the  figures  of  that 
bloody  drama,  now  so  well  known  to  us, 
will  disappear.  It  requires,  even  after  the 
lapse  of  only  a quarter  of  a century,  an 
effort  and  a history  to  recall  many  names 
which  were  then  household  words.  But 
Sherman’s  March  to  the  Sea,  like  the  retreat 
of  Xenophon  and  his  ten  thousand  Greeks, 
will,  through  all  ages,  arouse  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  schoolboy,  the  fervor  of  the  orator, 
and  the  admiration  of  the  strategist.  When 
at  last,  with  a picked  army  of  sixty  thou- 
sand veterans,  Sherman  was  encamped  at 
Atlanta,  he  had  grasped  and  materialized 
the  factors  of  success  in  the  dream  of  his 
youth.  lie  bombarded  the  President  and 
the  commanding  general  with  letters  and 


35 


In  ptcmoviam. 


telegrams : “ I can  divide  the  . Con- 

federacy, destroy  the  source  of  its  supplies, 
devastate  its  fertile  regions,  and  starve  its 
armies.”  “Give  me  the  word  ‘go/"  bur- 
dened the  wires  and  the  dispatch  boxes. 
The  Cabinet  said  : “Tour  army  will  be  lost 
floundering  in  the  heart  of  the  enemy’s 
country,  and  cut  off'  from  your  base  of 
supplies.”  The  headquarters  staff  said : 
“ Turn  back  upon  the  course  you  have 
traversed  and  destroy  Hood’s  army,  which 
threatens  your  communications  and  your 
rear,  and  then  we  will  discuss  the  question 
with  you.”  Sherman  detached  that  most 
remarkable  general,  Thomas,  with  a force 
sufficient,  in  his  judgment,  to  take  care  of 
Hood,  and  that  superb  officer  vindicated  the 
trust  reposed  in  him  by  pulverizing  the 
rebel  army. 

At  last  the  President  gave  an  approval 
so  reluctant  that  it  threw  the  responsibility 
upon  General  Sherman,  and  Grant  gave  his 
assent.  Said  General  Sherman  to  me,  in 
one  of  the  confidences  so  characteristic  of 


36 


(Sen.  ^SEiUiaw  *T.  Jdtcvmau. 

his  candid  mind : “ I believed  that  this 

permission  would  be  withdrawn,  and  sent 
immediately  a detachment  to  destroy  the 
wires  for  sixty  miles.  I never  felt  so  free 
and  so  sure  as  when  the  officer  returned 
and  reported  the  work  done.  Years  after- 
wards I discovered  an  official  memorandum 
that, ‘ owing  to  the  sudden  interruption  by  the 
rebels  of  communication  with  Atlanta,  a 
message  countermanding  the  assent  to  Gen- 
eral Sherman  to  march  across  the  country 
to  Savannah  could  not  be  delivered.’  ’’  Upon 
such  slender  threads  hang  the  fate  of 
campaigns  and  the  fame  of  illustrious  men. 

The  armies  of  Tennessee  and  of  Georgia 
had  the  dash  and  daring,  the  free  and 
breezy  swing  and  ways,  and  the  familiarity 
with  their  officers,  characteristic  of  the 
"West.  They  idolized  their  fatherly  but 
cyclonic  commander.  This  superb  specimen 
of  the  pure  Puritan  stock,  born  and  bred 
in  the  West,  careful  of  every  detail  which 
promoted  their  comfort  and  efficiency,  and 
careless  of  the  form  and  dignity  which 


37 


iUcmovuxm. 


hedges  in  authority,  won  their  love  and 
admiration.  Most  veteran  armies,  with  their 
lines  of  communication  and  supplies  aban- 
doned, and  marching  into  the  enemy’s 
country,  ignorant  of  the  food  and  forage 
which  might  be  found,  or  the  forces  which 
might  cross  their  path,  would  have  mur- 
mured or  hesitated.  But  the  soldier  who, 
with  only  a day's  rations  in  his  haversack, 
called  out  to  his  grim  and  thoughtful  Gen- 
eral as  he  rode  by,  “ Uncle  Billy,  I suppose 
we  are  going  to  meet  Grant  in  Richmond,” 
expressed  the  faith  of  his  comrades.  If 
Richmond  was  their  objective  point,  nor 
mountains,  nor  rivers,  nor  hostile  people,  nor 
opposing  armies,  could  prevent  Sherman 
from  taking  them  there  triumphantly.  The 
capture  of  Atlanta  had  aroused  the  wildest 
enthusiasm  among  the  people.  For  the  thirty 
days  during  which  the  victors  were  lost  in 
the  interior  of  the  Confederacy,  the  North 
listened  with  gravest  apprehension  and 
bated  breath.  Then  the  conquering  host 
were  on  the  shores  of  the  sea,  Savannah 


38 


(gen.  MtiULuu  g.  £»hcvm<m. 


was  laid  at  the  feet  of  President  Lincoln 
by  tlieir  general  as  a Christmas  present, 
the  Confederacy  was  divided  and  its 
resources  destroyed,  and  William  Tecumseh 
Sherman  became  “ one  of  the  few,  the 
immortal  names,  that  were  not  born  to  die.” 

Having  placed  his  army  across  all  the 
roads  by  which  General  Lee  could  escape 
from  Richmond,  Sherman  left  his  quarters 
to  visit  Lincoln,  then  with  Grant  at  City 
Point. 

In  April,  1861,  Captain  Sherman  had 
informed  the  President  in  the  White  House 
that  “ he  might  as  well  attempt  to  put  out 
the  flames  of  a burning  house  with  a 
squirt  gun  as  to  put  down  the  rebellion 
with  75,000  men,  and  that  the  whole  mili- 
tary power  of  the  North  should  be  organ- 
ized at  once  for  a desperate  struggle,” 
to  be  laughed  out  of  Washington  as  a 
lunatic.  Pour  years  had  passed.  Two  millions 
of  men  had  been  mustered  in ; live  hundred 
thousand  had  been  killed  in  battle,  or  died 
in  the  hospital  or  had  been  disabled  for 


39 


Zn  fXXcmovutm. 


life;  and  in  March,  1865,  General  Sher- 
man stood  in  the  presence  of  the  Presi- 
dent. It  was  the  original  faculty  of  Mr. 
Lincoln  that  he  conld  so  acknowledge 
a mistake  as  to  make  it  the  most  delicate 
and  significant  compliment.  “ Mr.  Presi- 
dent,” said  Sherman,  “ I left  in  camp  seventy- 
five  thousand  of  the  best  troops  ever  gathered 
in  the  field,  and  if  Lee  escapes  Grant,  they 
can  take  care  of  him.”  “I  shall  not  feel 
secure,  nor  that  they  are  safe,”  said  the 
President,  “ until  I know  you  are  back  again 
and  in  command.”  “ I can  capture  Jefferson 
Davis  and  his  Cabinet,”  said  General  Sher- 
man. “ Let  them  escape,”  was  the  sugges- 
tion of  this  wisest  of  Presidents  ; “ and,  above 
all,  let  there  be  no  more  bloodshed,  if  that 
is  possible.”  General  Joseph  Johnston  and 
the  last  army  of  the  Confederacy  in  Sher- 
man’s hands ; the  terms  of  reconstruction 
and  reconciliation  which  he  had  heard  from 
Lincoln  in  that  final  and  memorable  inter- 
view, submitted  as  the  conditions  of  surren- 
der; the  President’s  assassination  and  its 


40 


<5cn.  Sx&illiam  g.  j&hcvman. 


dread  consequences;  the  contemptuous  repu- 
diation of  his  terms  by  Secretary  Stanton; 
the  grand  review  of  his  soldiers  by  the 
Cabinet  and  Congress  at  Washington ; the 
indignant  refusal  of  the  proffered  hand  of 
the  Secretary  of  War  in  the  presence  of  the 
Government  and  the  people ; the  farewell  to 
and  muster  out  of  his  beloved  army,  and 
one  of  the  most  picturesque,  romantic  and 
brilliant  military  careers  of  modern  times 
came  to  a close.  Its  ending  had  all  the 
striking  and  spectacular  setting  of  its  course, 
and  its  adventures,  achievements  and  sur- 
prises will  be  for  all  time  the  delight  of  the 
historian,  and  the  inspiration  of  the  soldier. 

The  later  years  of  most  heroes  have  been 
buffeted  with  storms,  or  have  come  to  a 
tragic  end.  Caesar,  in  the  supreme  hour  of 
his  triumph,  fell  at  the  foot  of  Pompey’s 
statue,  pierced  by  the  daggers  of  his  friends. 
Napoleon  fretted  out  his  great  soul  in  the 
solitude  of  St.  Helena.  Wellington  lost 
popularity  and  prestige  in  the  strifes  of 
parties.  Washington  was  worried  and  wearied 


%n  IWcmoviam. 


into  his  grave  by  the  cares  of  office  and 
the  intrigues  of  his  enemies  — enemies,  as 
lie  believed,  also  of  his  country.  Grant’s 
death  was  hastened  and  his  last  days  clouded 
by  the  machinations  of  politicians  and  the 
crimes  of  trusted  associates.  But  General 
Sherman,  in  retirement,  led  an  ideal  life. 
Only  Yon  Moltke  shares  with  him  the  peace- 
ful pleasures  of  content  and  of  his  people’s 
love. 

The  fathers  of  the  Republic  were  fearful 
of  military  influence  and  apprehensive  of 
dangers  to  liberty  and  perils  to  the  life  of 
the  young  Republic.  Some  of  them  even 
distrusted  Washington  and  a dictatorship. 
After  him  they  set  aside  all  the  Revolutionary 
generals,  and  selected  statesmen  for  Presi- 
dents. But  with  confidence  in  the  power 
and  perpetuity  of  the  nation  came  the 
popular  strength  of  the  successful  soldier. 
None  of  our  heroes  have  been  able  to  resist 
the  fascination  and  dangers  of  the  Chief 
Magistracy,  except  General  Sherman.  All 
of  our  great  captains  would  have  led  happier 


(Sen.  W&illmm  g.  Jdxcvmau. 


lives,  and  left  their  fame  less  obscured,  if 
they  had  spurned  the  temptation.  In  nearly 
every  canvass  since  Jackson,  one  or  both 
of  the  great  parties  have  had  military  can- 
didates. General  Sherman  had  such  pecu- 
liar and  striking  elements  of  popularity 
that  party  leaders  begged  and  besought 
him  to  carry  their  standard.  Ilis  election 
would  have  been  a certainty,  and  he  knew 
it.  But  his  answer  was,  “I  will  not  accept 
if  nominated,  and  I will  not  serve  if  elected. 
In  every  man’s  life  occurs  an  epoch  when 
he  must  choose  his  own  career,  and  when 
he  may  not  throw  off  the  responsibility,  or 
tamely  place  his  destiny  in  the  hands  of  his 
friends.  Mine  occurred  in  Louisiana,  when, 
in  1861,  alone  in  the  midst  of  a people 
blinded  by  supposed  wrongs,  I resolved  to 
stand  by  the  Union  as  long  as  a fragment  of 
it  survived  on  which  to  cliim.  I remember 

o 

well  the  experiences  of  Generals  Jackson, 
Harrison,  Taylor,  Grant,  Ilayes  and  Garfield, 
all  elected  because  of  their  military  services, 
and  am  warned,  not  encouraged,  by  their  sad 


43 


%n  IBcmoriam. 


experiences/’  Not  the  least  of  the  dramatic 
memories  which  will  distinguish  this  most 
sincere  and  original  actor  in  the  drama  of 
life  will  be  that  he  will  remain  forever  the 
only  American  who  refused  the  Presidency  of 
the  United  States.  Though  declining  political 
preferment  for  himself,  he  rejoiced  in  the 
honors  bestowed  upon  any  member  of  his 
old  army.  “I  am  proud,”  he  said,  “that 
Ben  Harrison  is  our  President ; that  Foraker, 
Hovey,  Fitler  and  Humphreys  are  Governors 
of  the  great  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illi- 
nois and  Kansas  — all  Any  boys/”  and  he 
would  have  been  wild  with  delight  if  he 
could  have  added  Slocum,  Governor  of  New 
York. 


His  daily  walks  were  a series  of  triumphal 
processions.  The  multitudes  never  obtruded 
upon  his  privacy,  but  separated  as  he 
approached,  and  united,  when  he  passed,  to 
express  their  individual  and  collective  affec- 
tion and  gratitude.  The  encampments  of  the 
Grand  Army  were  tame  in  his  absence,  but 
his  presence  called  together  from  fifty  to  a 


44 


(Sen.  Mliltiam  g.  Jdicvmau. 


hundred  thousand  comrades  to  greet  “ Uncle 
Billy,"  and  rend  the  heavens  with  the  chorus 
of  “ Marching  Through  Georgia.”  His  ver- 
satile  genius  met  instantly  and  instinctively 
the  exacting  requirements  of  an  impromptu 
address  before  a miscellaneous  audience.  He 
possessed  beyond  most  men  the  quick  sym- 
pathy with  the  occasion,  the  seriousness  and 
humor,  the  fervor  and  story,  the  crisp  argu- 
ment and  delicacy  of  touch,  which  make  the 
successful  after-dinner  speech.  He  was  the 
most  charmingly  unconscious  of  conversation- 
alists. In  his  effacement  of  himself,  and 
cordial  recognition  of  others,  picturesque 
narrative  of  adventure,  and  keen  analysis  of 
character,  dry  humor,  and  hot  defense  or 
eulogy  of  a friend,  his  talk  was  both  a pano- 
rama and  a play.  He  was  always  a boy,  with 
a boy’s  love  of  fun,  keen  interest  in  current 
events,  and  transparent  honesty  of  thought 
and  expression. 

He  loved  the  theater,  and  the  stage,  feel- 
ing the  presence  of  a discriminating  but 
admiring  friend,  was  at  its  best  when  General 


45 


%u  ptjemjoriam. 


Sherman  was  in  the  audience.  He  was 
delightfully  happy  in  the  applause  and  praise 
of  his  countrymen  and  countrywomen.  He 
felt  that  it  came  from  their  hearts,  as  it  went 
to  his.  Through  his  course  as  a cadet  at 
West  Point  and  his  career  as  a young  officer 
he  revealed  his  innermost  soul  in  frequent 
correspondence  with  the  daughter  of  his 
adopted  father,  who  became  afterwards  his 
wife,  and  whose  wisdom,  devotion  and  tender- 
ness made  his  home  his  haven  and  his  heaven. 
No  impure  thought  ever  occupied  his  mind  or 
unclean  word  passed  his  lips.  There  was 
something  so  delicate  and  deferential  in  his 
treatment  of  women,  the  compliment  was  so 
sincere  both  in  manner  and  speech,  that  the 
knightly  courtesy  of  Bayard  had  in  him  the 
added  charm  of  a recognition  of  woman’s 
equal  mind  and  judgment. 

He  lived  in  and  with  the  public.  There 
was  something  in  the  honesty  and  clear  pur- 
pose of  crowds  which  was  in  harmony  with 
his  ready  sympathy  and  unreserved  expres- 
sion and  action  on  every  question. 


46 


(Sen.  W&iXXmm  %.  jHuevman. 


He  delighted  in  large  cities,  and  especially 
in  New  York.  The  mighty  and  yet  orderly 
movements  of  great  populations  were  in 
harmony  with  his  constant  contemplation  of 
grand  campaigns.  His  penetrating  and  sensi- 
tive mind  found  rest  and  recreation  in  the 
limitless  varieties  of  metropolitan  life.  He  so 
quickly  caught  the  step  of  every  assemblage 
that  he  was  equally  at  home  among  scientists 
and  Sunday-school  teachers,  alumni  associa- 
tions and  national  societies,  club  festivities, 
chambers  of  commerce  celebrations  and 
religious  conventions.  He  never  hesitated  to 
respond  on  any  and  all  these  occasions  to  a 
call  for  a speech,  and  always  struck  a chord 
which  was  so  in  unison  with  the  thought  of 
his  audience  as  to  leave  a lasting  impression. 
After  the  most  serious  and  important  of  con- 
sultations or  meetings,  the  small  hours  of  the 
night  would  often  find  him  the  honored  guest, 
a boon  companion  among  Bohemians,  or  old 
comrades ; but  in  all  the  freedom  of 
story  and  repartee,  of  humor  or  recitation, 
neither  lie  nor  they  ever  for  an  instant  forgot 


47 


%n  |*tcmovutm. 


that  they  were  in  the  presence  of  General 
Sherman. 

He  was  entirely  free  from  the  intense  and 
absorbing  passion  for  wealth  which  charac- 
terizes onr  times.  He  knew  little  of  and  cared 
less  for  the  processes  of  money  getting.  The 
one  place  in  the  country  where  fortunes 
were  never  estimated  was  his  house,  and  his 
was  the  only  presence  where  riches,  their 
acquirement  and  their  uses  were  never  dis- 
cussed. He  was  satisfied  with  his  well-earned 
pay  from  the  Government,  and  did  not  envy 
those  who  possessed  fortunes.  In  his  simple 
tastes  and  childlike  simplicity,  as  he  lived  and 
moved  in  the  midst  of  the  gigantic  combina- 
tions and  individual  efforts  to  secure  a larger 
share  of  stocks  and  bonds  and  lands,  he  stood 
to  the  financial  expansions  and  revulsions  of 
the  day  as  did  the  Vicar  of  Wakefield  to  the 
fashionable  society  of  his  period. 

This  soldier,  citizen  and  patriot,  this  model 
husband,  father  and  friend,  held  a place  in 
every  heart  and  a seat  by  every  fireside  in 
the  land.  His  death  carried  a sense  of 


48 


(ben.  ‘SHilliam  r£.  Jdtcrmau. 


personal  bereavement  to  every  household, 
and  plunged  the  country  in  mourning.  The 
imposing  catafalque  has  attracted  the  curi- 
osity of  thousands  as  it  lias  borne  to  the 
tomb  eminent  citizen  or  soldier,  but  the  simple 
caisson  rumbling  over  the  pavement,  and  car- 
rying General  Sherman  to  the  side  of  his 
beloved  wife  and  adored  boy  in  the  cemetery, 
drew  tears  from  millions.  Ilis  name  and  his 
fame,  his  life  and  his  deeds  are  among  the 
choicest  gifts  of  God  to  this  richly  endowed 
Republic,  and  a precious  legacy  for  the 
example  and  inspiration  of  coming  generations. 

The  conclusion  of  Mr.  Depew’s  address  was 
followed  by  “ March  et  Cortege  ” by  the 
orchestra,  and  song  by  Mile.  Clementine  De 
Yere,  and  “ Marching  Through  Georgia  ” by 
the  Excelsior  Quartette,  the  orchestra  and  the 
audience. 


49 


. 


" 


APPENDIX. 


Proceedings  of  the  Legislature 


OF  THE 

State  of  New  York 


RELATIVE  TO  THE  DEATH  OF 


GENERAL  WILLIAM  T.  SHERMAN. 


PROCEEDINGS. 


Ik  Assembly,  ) 

Monday  Evening,  February  16,  1891.  J 

A message  from  the  Governor,  b}^  the  hands  of  his 
private  secretary,  was  received  and  read,  in  the  words 
following- : 

State  of  New  Yoke,  Executive  Chamber,  ') 

Albany,  February  16,  1S91.  ( 

To  the  Assembly  : 

It  is  my  sad  duty  to  announce  to  the  Legislature  the 
death  of  General  William  T.  Sherman,  at  his  residence 
in  New  York  city,  on  Saturday  last. 

His  distinguished  patriotic  services  and  pure  life  have 
endeared  him  to  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen,  who 
everywhere  now  deeply  mourn  his  loss.  In  this  hour  of 
universal  expression  of  the  nation's  sorrow  and  esteem,  it 
is  proper  that  the  Legislature  of  this  State,  which  in 
recent  years  has  claimed  him  as  a resident,  and  in  which 
he  died,  should  manifest  by  appropriate  action  the  people’s 
grief  at  his  death,  and  the  affection  and  respect  with 
which  they  cherish  his  memory. 

I have  already  directed  that  as  a mark  of  respect  for 
the  distinguished  dead,  the  flags  upon  the  Capitol,  and 
upon  all  the  public  buildings  of  the  State,  including  the 
armories  and  arsenals  of  the  National  Guard,  be  displayed 
at  half-staff  until  and  including  the  day  of  the  funeral, 
and  I commend  to  your  consideration  such  further  action 
as  in  your  judgment  may  fitly  indicate  the  public  sense 
of  appreciation  and  loss. 

DAYII)  B.  HILL. 


S3 


in  |XXcmimam. 


Said  message  was  laid  upon  the  table  and  ordered 
printed. 

Mr.  McMahon  offered  for  the  consideration  of  the 
House  a memorial  and  resolution,  in  the  words  following : 

He  who  but  yesterday  was  the  most  illustrious  of  liv- 
ing Americans,  has  been  called  to  join  the  equally  illus- 
trious brothers-in-arms  who  have  gone  before  him,  and 
the  last  of  the  pre-eminently  great  names  of  the  passing 
century  remains  but  a memory  to  the  American  people. 
With  sorrowful  hearts  his  countrymen  accept  the  decree 
and  bow  in  humble  resignation ; therefore,  be  it 

Resolved , By  the  Assembly  of  the  State  which  he  had 
chosen  as  the  home  of  his  later  years,  that  there  be 
entered  upon  the  Journal  this  testimonial  of  the  honor, 
veneration  and  affection  in  which  the  people  of  the  State 
of  Mew  York  and  their  representatives  in  this  Household 
the  great  soldier  of  the  republic,  William  Tecumseh 
Sherman,  late  general  of  the  army  of  the  United  States. 
It  was  given  to  him  in  his  three-score  years  and  ten  of 
robust,  heroic  life,  to  win  undying  renown  as  a citizen, 
soldier  and  patriot.  Trained  by  the  nation  for  the  pro- 
fession of  arms,  he  was  yet  distinguished  in  civil  life 
beyond  the  lot  of  his  contemporaries.  During  the 
earliest  war  in  which  he  was  engaged,  he  furnished  proof 
of  executive  ability  in  the  acquisition  and  organization  of 
the  new  States  of  the  Pacific,  which  gave  promise  of  the 
higher  renown  to  which  he  attained  in  the  greater 
struggle  for  the  very  life  of  the  republic.  With  wise  and 
unerring  judgment,  he  foresaw  and  predicted  the  magni- 
tude of  the  peril  which  threatened  the  nation,  and 
resuming  the  sword  which  he  had  long  laid  aside, 
he  passed  from  a comparatively  humble  rank  in 
the  service  of  his  country  through  an  unclouded 
series  of  triumphs  to  the  command  of  all  her  armies, 
and  to  the  full  realization  of  the  high  hopes  which 
he  shared  with  the  lovers  of  liberty  among  all  the  nations 

54 


(gen.  g.  J>hcvma«. 


of  the  earth.  He  was  stern  in  his  views  of  duty,  unflinch- 
ing in  its  performance.  He  was  frank  and  outspoken 
with  friend  and  foe  ; just  hut  generous  to  the  vanquished, 
in  thought  and  word  and  act.  From  the  close  of  the 
war  which  lifted  him  to  the  high  rank  which  he  holds 
among  the  great  soldiers  of  the  world  to  the  last  sad  hour 
when  his  great  soul  passed  in  suffering  from  among  us,  he 
held  the  unfailing  love  of  his  countrymen.  To  this  high 
consolation  which  remains  to  those  who  were  dear  to 
him,  this  Assembly,  while  reverently  thanking  God  for 
having  vouchsafed  to  His  people  the  life  and  services  of 
such  a man,  leaving  to  those  who  are  to  follow  him  the 
high  example  of  his  stainless  record  and  heroic  career, 
desires  to  add  this  expression  of  the  universal  sorrow. 

Mr.  Speaker  put  the  question  whether  the  House  would 
agree  to  said  resolution,  and  it  was  determined  in  the 
affirmative. 

Mr.  IIitt  offered  for  the  consideration  of  the  House  a 
resolution,  in  the  words  following  : 

lie-solved,  That  the  message  of  the  Governor,  together 
with  the  tribute  offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Hew 
York,  General  McMahon,  be  entered  in  full  in  the  Journal 
of  this  House,  and  each  be  engrossed  under  the  direction 
of  the  clerk,  and  transmitted  to  the  family  of  the  distin- 
guished patriot  and  soldier. 

Mr.  Speaker  put  the  question  whether  the  House  would 
agree  to  said  resolution,  and  it  was  determined  in  the 
affirmative. 

The  Senate  sent  for  concurrence  a resolution,  in  the 
words  following : 

Whereas,  The  Legislature  has  heard  with  profound 
regret  of  the  death  of  General  William  T.  Sherman;  and 

W hereas,  This  sad  event  calls  for  more  than  ordinary 
notice  from  the  people  of  the  State  through  their  repre- 
sentatives ; therefore, 

S3 


%\x  |Vtcm err iant. 


Resolved  (if  the  Assembly  concur),  That  a committee, 
consisting  of  five  members  of  the  Senate  and  nine  mem- 
bers of  the  Assembly,  be  appointed,  who  shall  prepare 
resolutions  suitably  expressing  the  feeling  of  the  people 
of  the  State  at  the  loss  they  and  the  country  have 
sustained. 

Mr.  Speaker  put  the  question  whether  the  House  would 
agree  to  said  resolution,  and  it  was  determined  in  the 
affirmative. 

Ordered , That  the  clerk  return  said  resolution  to  the 
Senate,  with  a message  that  the  Assembly  have  concurred 
in  the  passage  of  the  same. 

Mr.  E.  P.  Ptjsh  offered  for  the  consideration  of  the 
House  a resolution,  in  the  words  following : 

Resolved  (if  the  Senate  concur),  That  a committee  of 
five  on  the  part  of  the  House  be  appointed  by  the  Speaker 
to  attend,  with  a similar  committee  from  the  Senate,  the 
funeral  of  the  late  General  "William  T.  Sherman,  to  be 
held  in  Hew  York  on  Thursday. 

Mr.  Speaker  put  the  question  whether  the  House  would 
agree  to  said  resolution,  and  it  was  determined  in  the 
affirmative. 

Ordered , That  the  Clerk  deliver  said  resolution  to  the 
Senate,  and  request  their  concurrence  therein. 


In  Assembly,  V 

Tuesday,  February  17,  1891.  S 

Mr.  E.  P.  Bush  offered  for  the  consideration  of  the 
House  a resolution,  in  the  words  following : 

Resolved  (if  the  Assembly  concur),  That  the  committee 
appointed  pursuant  to  a concurrent  resolution  adopted 
February  16,  1S91,  in  relation  to  the  death  of  General 
W.  T.  Sherman,  act  as  a joint  committee  of  the  two 


s s 


(gen.  ^tilliam  g.  j$fievman. 


Houses  of  tlie  Legislature  to  arrange  for  and  to  supervise 
at  some  future  time,  proper  memorial  services  in  com- 
memoration of  the  illustrious  dead. 

Mr.  Speaker  put  the  question  whether  the  House 
would  agree  to  said  resolution,  and  it  was  determined 
in  the  affirmative. 

The  Senate  sent  for  concurrence  a resolution  in  the 
words  following : 

Resolved  (if  the  Assembly  concur),  That  the  Legis- 
lature do  adjourn  on  Wednesday,  the  eighteenth  instant, 
until  Monday  evening,  the  twenty-third  instant,  at  8.30 
p.  m.,  for  the  purpose  of  permitting  the  members  of  the 
two  Houses  to  attend  the  funeral  of  General  William  T. 
Sherman. 

Mr.  Speaker  put  the  question  whether  the  House 
would  agree  to  said  resolution,  and  it  was  determined  in 
the  affirmative. 

Ordered , That  the  Clerk  return  said  resolution  to  the 
Senate,  with  a message  that  the  Assembly  have  concurred 
in  the  passage  of  the  same. 

The  Senate  sent  for  concurrence  a resolution  in  the 
words  following,  with  a message  that  they  have  appointed 
as  a committee  on  the  part  of  the  Senate,  Messrs.  Y edder, 
Laughlin,  Sheard,  Linson  and  Cantor. 

Whereas,  General  William  T.  Sherman  died  on  the 
fourteenth  instant,  in  the  city  of  Hew  York,  therefore, 

Resolved  (if  the  Assembly  concur),  That  a joint  com- 
mittee of  five  Senators  and  nine  members  of  the  Assembly 
be  appointed  by  the  presiding  officer  of  the  two  respec- 
tive Houses,  to  arrange  fitting  joint  memorial  services 
in  commemoration  of  the  life  and  character  of  the 
eminent  citizen  and  illustrious  soldier,  William  Tecumseh 
Sherman. 


B7 


%n  iUcmoviam. 


Mr.  Speaker  put  the  question  whether  the  House 
would  agree  to  said  resolution,  and  it  was  determined  in 
the  affirmative. 

Ordered , That  the  Clerk  return  said  resolution  to  the 
Senate,  with  a message  that  the  Assembly  have  con- 
curred in  the  passage  of  the  same. 

Mr.  Speaker  announced  as  such  committee  on  the  part 
of  the  Assembly,  Messrs.  McMahon,  Ilusted,  Osborne, 
Southworth,  Croak,  McBride,  Whipple,  Strahahan  and 
Parsons. 

The  Senate  returned  the  concurrent  resolution  provid- 
ing for  the  appointment  of  a joint  committee  on 
the  part  of  the  Senate  and  Assembly  to  attend 
the  funeral  of  the  late  General  Sherman,  with  a message 
that  they  have  concurred  in  the  passage  of  the  same, 
with  the  following  amendments,  and  have  appointed  as 
such  committee  on  the  part  of  the  Senate,  Messrs.  Fas- 
sett,  Sloan,  Erwin,  MANaughton  and  Stadler. 

Line  2,  strike  out  the  word  ‘dive”  and  insert  the  word 
“nine.” 

Line  4,  strike  out  the  word  “ similar.” 

Line  5,  after  the  word  “committee”  insert  the  words 
“of  five.” 

Mr.  Speaker  put  the  question  whether  the  House  would 
concur  in  said  amendments,  and  it  was  determined  in 
the  affirmative. 

Ordered , That  the  Clerk  return  said  resolution  to  the 
Senate,  with  a message  that  the  Assembly  have  concurred 
in  the  amendments. 

Mr.  Speaker  appointed  as  such  committee,  on  the  part 
of  the  House,  Messrs.  It.  P.  Bush,  McMahon,  Beakes, 
Webster,  Bice,  I.  S.  Johnson,  Chamberlain,  Thompson 
and  Worden. 


58 


<6cn.  MUllianv  ’i\  Herman. 


In  Senate,  ) 

Monday  Evening,  February  16,  1S91.  ) 

A communication  from  the  Governor,  by  the  bands  of 
his  private  secretary,  was  received  and  read,  in  the  words 
following  : 

State  of  JStew  York  — Executive  Chamber,  ) 
Albany,  February  16,  1891.  ) 

To  the  Legislature : 

It  is  my  duty  to  announce  to  the  Legislature  the  death 
of  General  William  T.  Sherman  at  his  residence  in  Yew 
York  city  on  Saturday  last. 

His  distinguished  patriotic  services  and  pure  life  have 
endeared  him  to  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen,  who 
everywhere  now  deeply  mourn  his  loss.  In  this  hour  of 
universal  expression  of  a nation’s  sorrow  and  esteem  it 
is  proper  that  the  Legislature  of  the  State  which  in 
recent  years  has  claimed  him  as  a resident,  and  in  which 
he  died,  should  manifest  by  appropriate  action  the  peo- 
ple's grief  at  his  death  and  the  affection  and  respect  with 
which  they  cherish  his  memory. 

I have  directed  that  as  a mark  of  respect  for  the  dis- 
tinguished dead  the  flags  upon  the  Capitol  and  upon  all 
the  public  buildings  of  the  State,  including  the  armories 
and  arsenals  of  the  National  Guard,  be  displayed  at  half- 
staff  until  and  including  the  day  of  the  funeral,  and  I 
commend  to  your  consideration  such  further  action  as  in 
your  judgment  may  fitly  indicate  the  public  sense  of 
appreciation  and  loss. 

DAVID  B.  IIILL. 

Mr.  Saxton  offered  the  following: 

Whereas,  The  Legislature  has  heard  with  profound 
regret,  of  the  death  of  Gen.  "William  T.  Sherman;  and 

Whereas,  This  sad  event  calls  for  more  than  ordinary 
notice  from  the  people  of  this  State,  through  their  repre- 
sentatives ; therefore, 


59 


%\x  ijttemoviam. 


Resolved  (if  the  Assembly  concur),  That  a committee, 
consisting  of  five  members  of  the  Senate  and  nine  mem- 
bers of  the  Assembly,  be  appointed  who  shall  prepare 
resolutions  suitably  expressing  the  feelings  of  the  people 
of  the  State  at  the  loss  they  and  the  country  have 
sustained. 

The  President  put  the  question  whether  the  Senate 
would  agree  to  said  resolution,  and  it  was  unanimously 
adopted  by  a rising  vote. 

The  President  appointed  as  such  committee  on  the  part 
of  the  Senate,  Messrs.  Saxton,  Jacobs,  Yeeder,  Robertson 
and  Brown. 

Ordered , That  the  Clerk  deliver  said  resolution  to  the 
Assembly,  and  request  their  concurrence  therein. 

The  Assembly  sent  for  concurrence  the  following 
resolution. 

Resolved  (if  the  Senate  concur),  That  a committee  of 
five  on  the  part  of  this  House  be  appointed  by  the 
Speaker  to  attend,  with  a similar  committee  from  the 
Senate,  the  funeral  obsequies  of  the  late  General  William 
T.  Sherman,  to  be  held  in  Hew  York  on  Thursday. 

Ordered , That  said  resolution  be  laid  upon  the  table. 


In  Senate,  ) 

Tuesday  Evening,  February  IT,  1891.  ( 

Mr.  Tedder  moved  to  take  from  the  table  the  concur- 
rent resolution,  in  the  following  words  : 

Resolved  (if  the  Senate  concur),  That  a committee  of 
five  on  the  part  of  the  House  be  appointed  by  the  Speaker 
to  attend, with  a similar  committee  from  the  Senate,  the 
funeral  obsequies  of  the  late  General  William  T.  Sher- 
man, to  be  held  in  Hew  York  on  Thursday. 


60 


d?cu.  Mmiiam  % J>ltjcvmau. 


The  President  put  the  question  whether  the  Senate 
would  agree  to  said  motion,  and  it  was  decided  in  the 
affirmative. 

Mr.  Saxton  moved  to  amend  said  resolution  by  strik- 
ing1 out  the  word  “ five,  ” first  occurring,  and  inserting  in 
lieu  thereof  the  word  “ nine  ” and  making  the  committee 
on  the  part  of  the  Senate  five. 

The  President  put  the  question  whether  the  Senate 
would  agree  to  said  motion,  and  it  was  decided  in  the 
affirmative. 

The  President  then  put  the  question  whether  the  Sen- 
ate would  agree  to  said  resolution,  as  amended,  and  it 
was  decided  in  the  affirmative. 

The  President  appointed  as  such  committee  on  the 
part  of  the  Senate,  Messrs.  Fassett,  Sloan,  Erwin, 
McXaughton  and  Stadler. 

Ordered , That  the  Clerk  return  said  resolution  to  the 
Assembly  with  a message  that  the  Senate  have  concurred 
in  the  passage  of  the  same,  with  amendments. 

The  Assembly  sent  for  concurrence  the  following  reso- 
lution : 

Resolved  (if  the  Senate  concur),  That  the  committee 
appointed  pursuant  to  a concurrent  resolution  adopted 
February  16,  1891,  in  relation  to  the  death  cf  General 
"William  T.  Sherman,  act  as  a joint  committee  of  the  two 
Houses  of  the  Legislature  to  arrange  for  and  supervise, 
at  some  future  time,  proper  memorial  services  in  com- 
memoration of  the  illustrious  dead. 

Mr.  A EDDEK  moved  to  substitute  in  lieu  thereof  the 
following : 

"Whereas,  General  "William  Tecumseh  Sherman  died 
in  the  city  of  Hew  York  on  Saturday,  the  11th  inst., 
therefore, 


61 


%\\  gtXcmoriam. 


Resolved  (if  the  Assembly  concur),  That  a joint  com- 
mittee of  five  Senators  and  nine  members  of  the  Assembly 
be  appointed  by  the  presiding  officers  of  the  respective 
Houses  to  arrange  fitting  joint  memorial  services  in  com- 
memoration of  the  life  and  character  of  the  eminent  citi- 
zen and  illustrious  soldier,  William  Tecumseh  Sherman. 

The  President  put  the  question  whether  the  Senate 
would  agree  to  said  motion,  and  it  was  decided  in  the 
affirmative. 

The  President  then  put  the  question  whether  the  Sen- 
ate would  agree  to  said  resolution,  and  it  was  decided  in 
the  affirmative. 

The  President  appointed  as  such  committee  on  the 
part  of  the  Senate,  Messrs.  Tedder,  Laughlin,  Sheard, 
Linson  and  Cantor. 

Ordmed,  That  the  Clerk  deliver  said  resolution  to  the 
Assembly,  and  request  their  concurrence  therein. 

The  Assembly  returned  the  concurrent  resolution 
relative  to  appointment  of  committees  to  draft  reso- 
lutions on  the  death  of  General  William  T.  Sherman, 
with  a message  that  they  have  concurred  in  the 
passage  of  the  same. 


In  Senate,  j 

Wednesday,  February  18,  1891.  j 
Mr.  Saxton,  speaking  to  a question  of  privilege,  said : 
Mr.  President. — The  Senate  on  Monday  evening 
passed  a resolution  for  the  appointment  of  a general 
committee  on  the  part  of  the  two  Houses  to  draft 
resolutions  that  were  proper  to  the  occasion  of  the 
death  of  General  Sherman.  That  resolution  was 
adopted  by  the  Senate  and  went  to  the  Assembly 


62 


(Sen.  MliUutw  £.  ^Itcvmun. 


and  was  adopted  by  the  Assembly.  The  Chair  in 
pursuance  of  that  resolution  appointed  a committee 
on  the  part  of  the  Senate  to  prepare  those  resolu- 
tions, but  the  Speaker  of  the  Assembly  did  not 
appoint  a committee  to  meet  Avith  us  for  that  pur- 
pose. The  reason  assigned  Avas  that  they  had  already 
adopted  resolutions  on  the  part  of  the  Assembly,  not 
concurrent,  and  had  spread  them  upon  the  records, 
and,  therefore,  it  was  thought  entirely  superfluous 
that  they  should  adopt  further  resolutions  as  joint 
resolutions. 

Mr.  Saxtox  then  offered  the  following : 

"Whereas,  The  death  of  the  distinguished  citizen, 
"William  Tecumseh  Sherman,  Avhich  recently  occurred 
within  this  State,  where  he  had  resided  during  the  closing 

7 O O 

years  of  his  life,  calls  for  public  expression  by  this  Senate 
of  the  high  esteem  in  which  his  memory  is  held  by  his 
fellow-countrymen. 

Resolved , That  his  death  has  removed  from  the  Avorld 
a great  general  whose  fame  had  extended  to  all  civilized 
lands,  and  Avhose  name  is  inseparably  connected  Avith  the 
most  renoAvned  military  achievements  of  the  present 
century.  He  was  the  last  survivor  of  that  immortal  trio 
who  led  to  victory  those  grand  armies  of  the  Union  that 
fought  so  bravely  for  country  and  human  freedom  and 
popular  government.  It  is  largely  due  to  his  courage, 
genius  and  patriotism  that  the  American  nation  still 
lives,  the  greatest  Republic  of  all  times ; and  that  the 
national  idea,  which  is  its  corner  stone,  had  been  placed 
upon  a solid  and  enduring  foundation.  Since  the  death 
of  his  renoAvned  compeers,  Grant  and  Sheridan,  he  has 
been  by  common  consent  the  most  illustrious  of  living 
Americans.  His  fellow-citizens  have  not  only  been  proud 
of  him  but  their  affections  have  gone  out  to  him  in 
unstinted  measure.  They  recognize  in  him  those  traits 


63 


%\x  iUcmovuim. 


that  combine  to  make  up  a remarkable  and  exceptional 
personality ; simplicity,  courage,  honesty,  loyalty  and 
magnanimity.  Their  admiration  for  these  noble  and 
heroic  qualities  was  only  surpassed  by  their  gratitude 
for  his  priceless  services  to  his  country  and  liis  race.  In 
social  life  lie  was  the  most  genial  and  lovable  of  men,  as 
every  one  will  testify  who  ever  came  within  the  circle  of 
his  personal  influence.  He  leaves  to  his  family  the  heri- 
tage of  an  illustrious  and  stainless  name ; and  to  his 
native  land  the  inspiring,  memory  and  glorious  results  of 
Chattanooga  and  Atlanta  and  the  wonderful  march  to 
the  sea. 

Resolved , That  a copy  of  these  resolutions  be  engrossed 
and  forwarded  to  his  bereaved  family  with  the  assurance 
that  the  Senators  of  this  body  profoundly  sympathize  with 
them  in  their  great  sorrow. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Saxton,  and  by  unanimous  coif- 
sent,  said  resolutions  was  laid  upon  the  table  and 
ordered  printed,  and  made  a special  order  for 
Monday  evening,  February  twenty-three. 

The  Assembly  returned  the  concurrent  resolution 
offered  by  Mr.  Tedder  as  a substitute  for  Assembly 
resolution,  relative  to  appointment  of  committees  to 
arrange  joint  memorial  services  in  honor  of  the 
death  of  General  Sherman,  with  a message  that  they 
have  concurred  in  the  passage  of  the  same,  and 
have  appointed  as  such  committee  on  the  part  of 
the  Assembly,  Messrs.  McMahon,  Ilusted,  Osborne, 
Southworth,  Croak,  McBride,  "Whipple,  Stranahan  and 
Parsons. 

The  Assembly  returned  the  concurrent  resolution 
authorizing  the  joint  committee  appointed  to  attend 
the  funeral  of  General  William  T.  Sherman,  to  take 
charge  of  and  make  arrangements  for  the  attend- 


64 


(Sen.  W&illmm  j§>]immtu. 


ance  of  the  Legislature  at  said  funeral,  'with  a 
message  that  they  have  nonconcurred  iu  the  passage 
of  the  same. 

The  Assembly  returned  the  concurrent  resolution 
as  amended  by  the  Senate,  relative  to  appointment 
of  committees  to  attend  the  funeral  obsequies  of 
the  late  General  Sherman,  with  a message  that  they 
have  concurred  in  the  amendments,  and  that  they 
have  appointed  as  such  committee  on  the  part  of 
the  Assembly,  Messrs.  It.  P.  Push,  McMahon,  Peakes, 
"Webster,  Pice,  I.  S.  Johnson,  Chamberlain,  Thompson 
and  "Worden. 


In  Senate,  j 

Monday  Evening,  February  23,  1891.  j 

The  President  announced  the  special  order,  being 
the  consideration  of  the  resolutions  previously 
offered  by  Mr.  Saxton. 

Mr.  Saxton  moved  that  said  preamble  and  resolu- 
tions be  adopted,  and  addressed  the  Senate  as  follow's : 

Mr.  President. — Thousand  of  voices  have  been  lifted 
up  during  the  past  week  in  praise  of  the  life  and 
character  of  General  Sherman.  Hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  hearts  have  been  touched  with  more  than 
a passing  grief  at  the  thought  that  this  illustrious 
citizen  has  departed  forever  from  the  scenes  of  his 
earthly  labors  and  triumphs. 

The  whole  American  people  have  expressed,  in  the 
most  impressive  manner,  their  sorrow  at  his  death 
and  their  reverence  for  his  memory.  Put  the  sense 
of  bereavement  which  is  so  universal  is  especially 
keen  among  the  ex-soldiers  of  the  civil  war  who 


65 


%\i  |^tcm oviam. 


have  long  felt  toward  him  as  they  did  toward 
Grant  and  Sheridan,  the  adoring  love  which  soldiers 
always  feel  for  those  great  captains  who  have  led 
them  on  to  glorious  victory.  They  will  miss  more 
than  others  that  kindly  face  and  pleasant  companion- 
ship which  they  have  always  eagerly  looked  for  at 
their  reunions  and  encampments  and  Memorial  Day 
exercises.  They  will  cherish  more  tenderly  than 
others  those  dear  and  inspiring  memories  which  have 
sprung  up  like  fragrant  flowers  along  the  pathway 
of  the  many  years  during  which  he  has  keen  their 
faithful  friend  and  comrade.  As  one  of  the  ex-sol- 
diers who  served  during  the  war,  a private  in  the 
ranks,  I wish,  in  the  few  moments  at  my  disposal, 
to  place  my  humble  wreath  upon  his  honored 
tomb. 

General  Sherman  was  a born  soldier  and  leader  of 
men.  He  had  by  nature,  and  in  a marked  degree,  those 
qualities  which  are  certain  to  make  that  man  who 
possesses  them  a successful  general  when  the 
right  time  comes  for  their  full  development.  His 
mental  vision  was  clear  and  penetrating.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  war  he  was  convinced  that  a great 
conflict  Avas  before  us;  and  when  the  President 
called  for  75,000  three  months’  volunteers  to  put 
down  the  rebellion,  he  was  struck  by  the  utter  absurdity 
of  attempting  to  accomplish  so  great  a result  by 
such  grotesquely  inadequate  means.  It  seemed  to 
him  like  trying  to  destroy  a fortress  of  stone  and 
iron  with  a battery  of  popguns.  He  expressed  the 
opinion  that  “ at  least  200,000  men  would  be 
required  to  conquer  the  Confederacy,”  and  the  peo- 


66 


(gcu.  Mtilliam  g.  J&Ticvman. 


pie  of  the  north  were  inclined  to  doubt  his  sanity. 
Some  even  went  so  far  as  to  doubt  his  loyalty. 
Later  on,  when  the  valor  and  determination  of  a 
million  battle-scarred  veterans  were  hardly  sufficient 
for  the  gigantic  work  before  them,  we  all  saw 
that  he  had  understood  the  real  situation  far  bet- 
ter than  did  the  great  mass  of  his  fellow-citizens. 

But  the  outset  of  his  career  was  clouded  by  the 
unjust  prejudice  which  had  been  thus  excited  against 
him.  This  was  not  overcome  until  we  had  passed 
that  early  period  when  campaigns  were  mapped  out 
in  newspaper  offices,  and  had  reached  the  stage  of 
experience  when  we  were  convinced  that  the 
war  was  a serious  affair,  and  could  only  be  brought 
to  a successful  termination  by  competent  generals 
commanding  trained  and  experienced  soldiers.  Then 
his  great  qualities  began  to  be  estimated  at  their 
true  value,  and  before  the  war  had  ended  his  splen- 
did achievements  had  made  him  not  only  a great 
national  hero,  but  a great  popular  idcl  as  well. 

Let  me  state  briefly  what,  in  my  opinion, 
were  the  chief  elements  of  his  character  that  con- 
tributed to  his  marvelous  success.  Of  course,  he 
had  that  physical  courage  which  is  presumed  in 
every  soldier  from  the  general  down  to  the  hum- 
blest private.  That  is  fundamental.  The  old  Homans 
made  it  the  chief  of  all  the  manly  virtues,  and 
with  reason,  because  it  is  the  foundation  of  all  high 
and  noble  character.  At  the  battle  of  Shiloh  Sher- 
man, who  was  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight  all 
through  that  fatal  first  day,  was  wounded  twice, 
and  had  several  horses  shot  under  him ; and  there 


67 


%vl  ^tcmovuinu 


it  was  that  he  also  exhibited  that  finer  quality,  the 
pertinacity  or  “ clear  grit,”  as  we  sometimes  call 
it,  which  wrests  victory  from  the  very  jaws  of 
defeat.  General  Thomas  was  called  the  Rock  of 
Chicamauga  because  he  stood  like  a rock 
against  which  the  waves  of  assault  madly  rushed 
only  to  be  broken  and  dashed  back  in  bloody 
spray.  "With  equal  justice,  Sherman  might  have  been 
called  the  Rock  of  Shiloh.  On  that  terrible  Sunda}* 
when  the  clouds  of  defeat  were  gathering,  when  rout 
and  disaster  were  seen  on  every  side,  and  it  seemed 
as  if  the  army  must  be  annihilated,  there  was  one 
man  who  said  to  the  tide  of  victory  that  seemed  to 
be  rolling  on  with  resistless  force,  “ Thus  far 
shalt  thou  come  and  no  further.”  That  man  was 
Sherman.  lie  held  the  right  against  the  most  des- 
perate assaults  of  the  enemy,  and  the  day  was  saved. 
General  Grant  wrote  to  the  'War  Department  that 
to  Sherman’s  individual  efforts  he  was  indebted  for 
the  success  of  the  battle;  a tribute  no  less  honor- 
able to  him  who  gave  it  than  to  him  who  received  it. 

Ilis  patriotism  was  another  striking  feature  of 
his  character.  When  the  war  broke  out  every  one 
who  knew  his  views  upon  certain  subjects,  and  were 
familiar  with  his  surroundings,  would  have  predicted 
that  his  sympathies  would  go  out  toward  the  South. 
Rut  he  did  not  hesitate  a moment  as  to  what  course 
he  would  take.  He  loved  his  country  with  every 
fiber  of  his  being.  lie  reverenced  the  flag.  He 
believed  in  American  nationality.  It  was  his  love 
of  country  and  faith  in  her  destiny  which  inspired 
him  to  win  great  victories;  and  if  he  had  been 


68 


<5eu.  lp.iXXi am  jHuvmau. 


less  a patriot  lie  would  have  been  less  a conquerer. 
This  passion,  was  so  absorbing  that  it  swallowed  up 
all  mere  personal  considerations.  He  was  stationed 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Cumberland  while  Grant  was 
assailing  Fort  Donelson,  and  although  the  superior  of 
the  latter  general  in  military  rank  at  that  time,  he 
wrote  to  him  that  he  would  waive  all  question  of 
rank  and  render  any  assistance  in  his  power.  Grant 
might  have  the  glory.  All  he  asked  was  a chance 
to  serve  his  country. 

He  was  magnanimous,  as  all  truly  great  natures 
are.  There  was  no  trace  of  meanness  about  him; 
no  vindictiveness;  no  petty  jealousy ; no  lurking  desire 
for  revenge  upon  those  who  had  done  him  an  injury, 
lie  was  as  loyal  to  his  friends  as  he  was  generous 
to  his  vanquished  foes.  Hever  did  he  permit  his 
ambition  to  stand  in  the  way  of  his  duty.  A strik- 
ing illustration  of  this  is  to  be  found  in  the  history 
of  the  Vicksburg  campaign.  The  fleet  had  succeeded 
in  passing  the  rebel  batteries,  and  Grant  was  getting 
ready  to  cross  the  river  at  Grand  Gulf,  when  he 
wrote  to  Sherman,  saying  that  a feint  on  the  Yazoo 
river  at  Ilaines  Bluff  might  aid  in  concealing:  his 
real  intentions  from  the  enemy.  Sherman  had  already 
been  repulsed  in  a similar  attack,  and  knew  that  the 
attempt  would  expose  him  to  the  charge  of  a second 
failure,  but  he  replied  at  once : “ I believe  that  this 

diversion  at  Haines  Bluff  is  right,  and  I will  make 
it,  no  matter  if  they  do  say  I am  repulsed.”  When 
he  arranged  for  the  surrender  of  General  Johnson 
at  the  close  of  the  war  the  conditional  terms  that 
were  agreed  upon  aroused  the  anger  of  the  northern 


69 


%n  ptjemoriaw. 


people  against  him.  After  what  he  had  endured 
and  accomplished  for  his  country,  he  must  have 
keenly  felt  the  injustice  of  his  fellow-countrymen ; 
hut,  like  the  loyal  and  gallant  soldier  he  was,  he  did 
not  permit  this  feeling  to  SAverve  him  one  hair’s 
breadth  from  the  line  of  his  duty. 

I have  always  thought  that  he  had  in  a greater  measure 
than  any  of  his  comrades  in  arms  that  something  called 
genius,  which  eludes  the  grasp  of  definition  and  defies 
the  analysis  of  the  acutest  logic,  but  a spark  of  which 
illumines  with  a divine  illumination  the  soul  of  him  to 
whom  it  has  been  communicated.  That  creative  im- 
agination was  his  Avhich  can  lay  out  the  most  compre- 
hensive  plans  ; not  in  the  air,  but  upon  the  solid  earth 
Avliere  they  can  be  made  realities  by  the  same  genius  that 
conceived  them.  lie  saw  his  campaigns  before  him,  not 
only  in  their  general  features,  but  also  in  their  minutest 
details.  The  campaign  that  ended  in  the  fall  of  Atlanta 
was  one  of  the  most  splendid  specimens  of  generalship  to 
be  found  in  the  annals  of  warfare.  Grant  wrote  to  him 
about  it  as  folloAvs  : “ I feel  you  have  accomplished  the 
most  gigantic  undertaking  given  to  any  general  of  the 
war,  and  Avith  a skill  that  will  be  acknowledged  in  his- 
tory as  unsurpassed,  if  not  unequaled.”  The  march  to 
the  sea,  while  it  presented  itself  as  a bold  and  even 
startling  conception  at  the  time,  Avas  really  the  only 
logical  sequence  of  the  then  existing  situation.  The 
brilliancy  with  which  it  Avas  carried  into  execution  made 
it  one  of  the  most  romantic  and  thrilling  episodes  of  the 
age. 

During  the  quarter  of  a century  that  has  passed  since 
the  Avar,  General  Sherman  has  lhred  in  the  most  familiar 


70 


it 

(gen.  ‘William  g.  ^Herman. 


relations  'with  his  fellow-countrymen.  He  was  received 
with  love  and  respect  wherever  he  went.  TTe  all  liked 
to  meet  him.  There  was  something-  magnetic  about  him, 
something-  inexpressibly  charming  in  his  personality. 
"When  he  came  into  a room  he  was  at  once  the  center  of 
attraction,  not  merely  because  he  had  been  a great 
general  and  a great  hero,  but  because  lie  was  a delightful 
and  much  beloved  man.  Ilis  brain  was  full  of  (plaint 
and  original  ideas.  He  was  often  called  upon  to  speak 
on  public  occasions,  and  always  spoke  eloquently,  not 
with  the  eloquence  of  fine  language  or  polished  rhetoric, 
but  with  that  loftier  eloquence  which  is  informed  by 
thought  and  adorned  by  character ; the  very  essence  of 
good  speaking  without  which  words  however  artistic,  are 
but  a tinkling  cymbal. 

And  so  farewell  to  the  last  great  hero  of  our  civil  war. 
But  while  we  still  see  him  no  more  we  know  that  the 
best  of  him  still  lives  among  us,  his  character  and 
achievements  which  will  never  die.  His  fame  will  shine 
brighter  and  brighter  as  posterity  appreciates  even  more 
than  we  do,  not  only  the  splendor  of  his  military 
genius,  but  the  magnitude  of  the  work  in  which  he  was 
so  potent  a factor,  and  its  tremendous  effect  for  good 
upon  the  destinies  of  the  human  race. 

Hr.  Bkowx  addressed  the  Senate  as  follows : 

Hr.  President. — I should  indeed  feel  remiss  in  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duty  devolving  upon  every  true-hearted 
American  when  opportunity  occurs  did  I not  say  a word 
on  this  occasion. 

The  history  of  the  achievements  of  General  Sherman 
has  been  given  in  detail  eloquently  and  ably  by  the 
Senator  who  has  preceded  me. 


71 


%\x  |XXcworuun. 


A few  thoughts  in  connection  with  tlie  distin- 
guished career  and  character  of  one  of  the  most 
renowned  men  of  history  may  not  be  amiss. 
I knew  him  as  a neighbor  and  a friend.  In 
my  younger  days  I appreciated  his  great  achieve- 
ments on  the  field  of  battle,  his  great  conquests  in 
the  cause  of  liberty  and  in  the  perpetuation  of  this 
Union.  Since  then  I came  in  frequent  contact  with 
this  great  man,  and  learned  to  know  his  lovable 
and  charming  nature,  his  great  simplicity  in  life,  his 
devotion  for  home,  his  fondness  for  family  and  the 
dear  ones  about  him.  Speaking  of  home,  that  is  the 
well-spring  of  patriotism,  that  is  the  keynote  that 
imbues  men  to  love  county,  to  bare  their  forms 
against  invading  foes,  or  those  who  shall  assail  the 
sacred  precincts  of  the  most  lovely  and  endearing  spot 
on  earth,  the  fireside.  "With  the  fireside  and  about  it 
are  instilled  the  spirit  of  patriotism,  the  love  of  country, 
that  has  imbued  men  through  all  times  to  daring 
deeds,  even  at  the  hazard  of  life,  to  maintain  its 
integrity.  Tlie  spirit  of  patriotism  is  imbued  at  home. 
It  is  there  inculcated  by  the  mother  at  the  fireside, 
and  the  spirit  there  given  to  the  growing  child  and  the 
developing  mind  has  a controlling  influence  through 
future  life.  Love  of  home  is  but  another  word  for 
patriotism  and  devotion  to  country.  This  devotion  to 
country  has  been  an  inspiring  principle  with  intelligent 
men  through  all  history.  The  brave  Spartans  fell  300 
in  number  at  the  Pass  of  Thermopylae,  and  all  they 
asked  was  that  there  might  be  inscribed  upon  their 
tomb,  “ Oh,  stranger,  go  tell  it  at  Lacedaemon  that  we 
died  here  in  obedience  to  her  laws.”  The  love  of  law, 


72 


(Sen.  Mlilliam  T.  Jdvcvnmn. 


the  lore  of  order,  the  love  of  constitutional  liberty  is 
the  most  inspiring  thought  in  man’s  heart.  Agamemnon 
after  returning  from  the  most  glorious  victories  would 
not  even  greet  his  mo  their,  his  wife  or  his  children 
till  he  gave  homage  to  his  country.  Without  country, 
without  law,  without  devotion  to  principle,  there  is  no 
home,  there  is  no  happiness,  and  scarcely  could  be 
Heaven  on  earth  or  beyond  it.  Christ  himself,  the 
divine  perfection  of  humanity,  acknowledged  the  sacred 
principle  when  he  promulgated  the  glad  tidings  which 
shall  lie  for  all  people,  and  commanded  that  they  should 
first  be  proclaimed  throughout  the  land  of  his  birth, 
and  grieved  in  sorrow  for  those  who  go  from  their 
homes  and  shall  return  no  more,  nor  see  their  native 
land.  The  spirit  and  love  of  home,  the  spirit  and 
love  of  liberty  established  the  blessings  that  we  now 
enjoy,  established  this  constitutional  government,  and 
the  stars  of  many  pure  spirits  who  died  in  the  cause 
are  now  looking  down  with  angels’  eyes  upon  the  quiet 
earth.  They  form  a constellation  in  the  skies  and  will 
live  in  history  and  in  the  memory  of  every  friend  of 
liberty  and  freedom  through  all  time.  Amidst  this 
mighty  galaxy  of  great  spirits  of  the  Revolution,  those 
who  fought  and  died  that  this  government  might  be 
enjoyed  by  us  there  was  added  in  the  death  of  the 
distinguished  gentleman  and  general  whose  memory  we 
commemorate,  one  of  its  most  brilliant  lights,  that  will 
shine  like  a gem  forever  and  ever,  whose  name  will 
live  in  history  in  glittering  light,  bright  and  glorious, 
as  if  painted  by  sunbeams.  It  would  seem,  and  it  is 
proper  indeed  in  my  conception,  that  the  heroes  of  war 
far  surpass  in  the  admiration  and  enthusiasm  of  men 


73 


|u  ptcmoviam. 


those  of  civil  or  any  other  condition  of  life.  It  doe’s 
seem  too,  that  yon  may  talk  of  moral  government  or 
moral  suasion,  the  liberties  of  any  people  after  all 
are  sustained  and  maintained,  by  the  power  of  the 
sword.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  country  on  earth  that 
could  better  live  without  that  power  than  this  charming 
land  of  ours,  and  yet  take  it  away,  even  for  a fort- 
night, and  imagine  the  conditions.  Therefore,  I conceive 
it  is  fairly  proper,  as  I say,  that  men  who  with  “ sword 
and  shield  in  the  bloody  field”  have  won  immortal 
fame  should  be  and  are  the  heroes  of  history.  It  is  easy  to 
sit  in  quiet  houses  and  enjoy  the  peace  and  contentment 
afforded  you  by  the  law,  hut  it  is  not  so  easy  to  main- 
tain against  contending  foes  and  embattled  thousands 
your  position  and  your  life.  Through  all  time  intelligent 
people,  and  even  before  the  intelligence  of  the  middle 
or  the  present  age,  the  heroes  of  war  have  been  honored 
in  story  and  in  song,  and  so  it  will  ever  be.  Ho  general 
in  my  time,  and  no  man  no  matter  how  great  in  peace  or 
war,  has  a greater  degree  of  affection  or  admiration  in 
my  heart  than  General  Sherman.  TIis  achievements  are 
acknowledged  equal  to  if  not  greater  than  any  other 
man  who  ever  so  gallantly  bore  the  sword,  and  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  American  people  in  devotion  to  his 
memory  will  grow  as  time  goes  on.  “To  live  with 
fame  the  gods  allow  to  many,  but  to  die  with  an  equal 
luster  is  a blessing  Ileaven  selects  from  all  the  choicest 
boons  of  fate  and  with  a sparing  hand  on  few 
bestow.”  Years  after  the  achievements  of  this  great 
man,  long  after  the  restoration  of  the  Union,  he 
lived  and  grew  in  magnitude  and  in  the  love  and  affec- 
tion of  his  countrymen.  “ How  shall  we  rank  him  upon 
glory’s  page  ? ” Dead,  gone ; but  still  he  lives.  He 


74 


(Sen.  W&illi am  2*.  Jdievmau. 


lives  in  the  heart,  in  the  love  and  affection  of  the 
American  people.  He  sleeps  as  one  of  the  greatest 
soldiers  of  this  country. 

“ How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest 
With  all  their  country's  honor  blest? 

When  spring  with  dewy  fingers  cold 
Keturns  to  deck  their  haHowed  mold. 

She  there  shall  find  a sweeter  sod 
Than  fancy's  feet  have  ever  trod; 

By  fairy  hands  their  knell  is  rung, 

By  forms  unseen  their  dirge  is  sung. 

Here  honor  comes  a pilgrim  gray 
To  bless  the  turf  that  wraps  their  clay. 

And  freedom  shall  a while  repair, 

To  dwell  a weeping  hermit  there.” 

This  great  hero  of  whom  we  speak  has  been  followed  to 
the  grave  by  such  a pageant  as  no  living  one  I believe  will 
ever  again  see ; spontaneous,  an  outgrowth  of  the  love  and 
affection  of  the  American  people.  He  needs  no  eulogy  to 
perpetuate  his  name  and  fame.  He  needs  no  mauso- 
leum of  brass  or  marble  to  proclaim  his  greatness. 
Enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  the  American  people,  he  will 
live  on  and  shine  on  for  ages  and  ages.  Let  him  rest  in 
peace  amidst  the  tokens  of  that  freedom  he  so  much 
loved.  Let  him  sleep  on  where  the  dashing  and 
splashing  of  the  mighty  waters  in  their  grandeur 
and  sublimity,  where  the  whistling  of  the  tameless  and 
unchained  winds  through  the  pines  of  the  mountain 
vale,  ceaseless  and  forever,  where  the  rippling  and 
bubbling  of  the  gentle  rivulet,  and  the  songs  of  the 
wild  birds  commingled  with  all  that  speaks  of  liberty, 
may  chant  his  eternal  requiem. 

Hr.  Eobertson  addressed  the  Senate  as  follows : 

Mr.  President. — Tke  death  of  General  Sherman 
filled  the  whole  country  with  profound  sorrow.  For 

73 


%n  |*lnnoviam. 


several  years  before  bis  death  he  was  its  most 
illustrious  citizen,  and  its  greatest  living  soldier. 
Comparison  between  Grant,  Sherman  and  Sheridan 
at  this  time  would  be  out  of  place,  but  I may  be 
permitted  to  say  of  all  three  that  they  tower  above 
all  our  other  military  heroes  as  do  "Webster,  Clay 
and  Calhoun  above  all  other  American  statesmen. 
I have  met  many  great  men  in  my  time,  but  the 
greatness  of  each,  with  five  or  six  exceptions,  burst 
upon  me  in  all  its  fullness  at  the  first  meeting.  Of 
these  exceptions,  General  Sherman  stands  first.  I met 
him  frequently  after  the  war,  and  on  each  occasion 
he  seemed  greater  than  on  the  one  immediately 
preceding.  His  resources  in  peace,  as  well  as  in 
war,  were  as  inexhaustible  as  the  waters  of  the 
ocean.  His  memory  for  the  sections  of  the  country 
which  he  had  seen  was  marvelous.  I remember  his 
telling  me  that  he  visited  Tarrytown,  a large  village 
in  my  district,  and  that  he  drove  through  it  and  its 
suburbs ; that  he  had  never  visited  it  before  nor  since, 
and  that  was  several  years  previously,  and  yet  he 
described  its  chief  features,  and  told  to  what  points 
the  various  roads  led  as  accurately,  as  faithfully,  as 
any  resident  of  the  village  could  have  done.  He 
was  peerless  in  conversation.  He  used  a greater 
proportion  of  Saxon  words  in  his  talk  than  any  other 
person  of  my  acquaintance,  more  than  can  be  found 
in  any  book,  perhaps,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Bible.  He  was  generous,  he  was  unselfish,  he  was 
just;  he  was  more  than  just.  He  often  gave  more 
credit  to  others  than  they  deserved  for  their  part  in 
his  own  brilliant  exploits.  He  was  a pure  patriot, 


76 


(Sen.  xuititliam  g.  j&Hmnan. 


free,  perfectly  free,  from  envy,  jealousy,  selfishness 
and  unholy  ambition.  He  could  have  been  president, 
but  there  was  no  power,  no  influence  that  could 
wring  from  him  the  desired  consent.  There  may  be 
others  in  civil  and  in  military  life  competent  for 
that  place  who  would  have  refused  the  presidency, 
but  history  fails  to  record  their  names.  He  desired 
to  stand  on  a level  with  other  citizens.  He  was 
averse  to  hero-worship;  he  would  have  none  of  it. 
He  conceded  to  others  the  same  right  that  he 
claimed  himself.  There  was  no  other  person  in  this 
broad  land  at  the  time  of  his  death  who  had  more 
admirers,  truer  friends  and  fewer  enemies,  north  and 
south,  east  and  west,  among  the  gray  and  among 
the  blue,  than  General  Sherman.  There  was  no 
more  sincere  mourner  at  his  funeral  than  General 
Joseph  E.  Johnson.  General  Sherman  captured 
Johnson  and  his  confederate  soldiers  in  war  by  his 
great  military  shill ; he  recaptured  them  in  peace  by 
his  utter  lack  of  vindictiveness,  his  great  love  for 
the  whole  country,  and  for  all  of  its  citizens.  His 
fame  will  live  until  republics  are  no  more,  and  his 
famous  march  from  Atlanta  to  the  sea  will  not  even 
then  be  forgotten. 

Mr.  Coggeshall  addressed  the  Senate  as  follows : 

Mr.  President. — It  was  not  my  purpose,  sir,  to  take 
part  in  the  observances  of  the  evening,  and  yet  I feel  that 
I can  not  let  the  occasion  pass  without  paying  my 
humble  tribute  to  the  greatness  and  worth  of  William 
Tecumsek  Sherman.  At  the  portals  of  his  grave  the 
whole  civilized  world  mourns.  His  was  indeed  a life 
symmetrically  crowned,  employed  in  usefulness,  crowned 


77 


%\x  IHcmovhtm. 


with  honor  and  rewarded  by  success.  We  may  well  say 
of  him,  as  has  been  said  of  the  illustrious  father  of  our 
country,  that  he  was  “ first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and 
first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.” 

It  was  my  privilege,  Mr.  President,  to  enjoy  the  per- 
sonal acquaintance  and  friendship  of  General  Sherman. 
With  no  man  so  great,  so  honored  as  he,  have  I ever 
engaged  in  conversation  with  such  pleasure  and  profit. 
One  of  the  grandest  characteristics  of  the  man  was  his 
simplicity  of  manner,  his  absolute  unostentation,  meeting 
all  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  upon  a common 
level.  It  mattered  not  to  him  whether  it  was  the 
crowned  head,  whether  it  was  the  distinguished  man, 
whether  it  was  the  officer  or  the  humble  private,  the 
big  heart  and  the  open  hand  of  General  Sherman  were 
given  to  each  and  all  alike.  Nothing,  sir,  so  much 
impressed  me  as  to  his  loving  nature  and  grand  character 
as  when  I had  the  pleasure  of  sitting  by  his  side  at  a 
banquet  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Referring  to  the 
many  compliments  and  honors  that  had  been  conferred 
upon  him,  he  said : “ With  me  the  warfare  is  nearly 

ended,  and  within  a short  time  I shall  join  those  who 
have  gone  before  me,”  as  he  loved  to  express  it,  “ I am 
the  last  of  the  Mohicans,”  and  when  with  trembling  lips 
and  bedewed  eyes  he  turned  to  General  Slocum  who  was 
sitting  by  him,  and  said : “In  a little  while,  I will  be 
sleeping  with  my  wife  and  my  soldier  boy  Willie.” 
Greater  enconium  can  be  paid  by  no  man  than  the 
sentiment  uttered  by  Col.  Brown  in  referring  to  his  love 
of  home.  This,  General  Sherman  indeed  had  in  an 
eminent  degree,  and  it  was  that  side  of  his  nature  and  his 
character  that  I so  much  admired.  Already,  Mr. 


78 


Ccu.  Gherman. 


President,  the  military  career  of  General  Sherman  has 
been  eloquently  dwelt  upon  by  the  Senator  from  the 
twenty-eighth,  and  the  Senator  from  the  fifth.  I,  there- 
fore, forbear  further  speaking-,  and  unless  there  be  other 
remarks  I most  respectfully  move  the  adoption  of  the 
resolutions. 

The  President  then  put  the  question  whether  the 
Senate  would  agree  to  said  resolutions,  and  it  was 
unanimously  adopted  by  a rising  vote. 


79 


. 


923. 573  S553N 

New  York 


315104 


Proceedings  of  Sonstp 


923. 573  S553N 


316104 


